


Delphinium

by toastie_bread



Category: One Piece
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Cop writing, Bars, Crime, Drinking, Floriography, Flowers, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Nami/Nefertari Vivi, Multi, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, beauty salon, gay!sanji, lots of flirting, meet-cute in a way, pan!zoro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:34:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27427279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toastie_bread/pseuds/toastie_bread
Summary: Sanji is the owner of a beauty salon named Delphinium. Everything is *almost* perfect – beautiful customers, decent pay and great friends... until he gets robbed. That’s when he meets a certain green-haired cop who might just be the solution to his non-existent love life.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 80
Kudos: 169





	1. Delphinium ❀

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the first fics I've written since like 2014. Inspiration comes from [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/8t4g0f/if_one_piece_was_set_in_modern_timeswhat_jobs/) except some of the jobs listed are different in this AU. Also everyone's aged up 3 years. Not sure how long this will be but tags are subject to change since I haven't planned out everything yet... I just really wanted to write Sanji working at a beauty salon. Enjoy! 
> 
> Edit 10/11: [Bloom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41PTANtZFW0) by Troye Sivan is this fic's song. I might create a playlist later down the track! ❀

###  Delphinium 

### 

> #####  **Delphinium:** _symbolize cheerfulness and goodwill, as well as a protective plant. It can also symbolise new opportunities and openness to new feelings and emotions._

“What do you think, Mademoiselle?” Sanji removed the black cape from around his client’s neck and held out a mirror for her so she could examine the back of her fresh new cut. 

“Oh my! It’s beautiful!” The raven-haired woman ran her hands through her silky hair, allowing it to fall gracefully against her back. “You’re amazing, Sanji! The length is perfect and my hair feels so silky!” 

“I am not worthy of such flattery, my dear. I should be the one thanking you for gracing me with your beauty.” He held out his hand for her to take as she got up out of her seat. “Nami will take care of you from here, but I do hope I will get to see you again.”  


A fervent blush spread across the woman’s cheeks. “Of-of course! I’ll be back. There’s nobody else in Grand Line City that’s as delicate and skilled with your hands as you.” 

Sanji smiled at her in response before planting a gentle kiss on her hand.

Sanji adored watching the bright faces of his clients after he and his staff worked their expertise on them. He saw every woman as beautiful no matter their shape or size, but unfortunately a lot of them didn’t share the same thought before they stepped foot in his salon. He made it his goal to ensure that all of his clients felt as good as they looked once they left Delphinium. 

“Looking gorgeous! The style suits you, Miss Hancock.” Nami winked, typing something into the computer. “That’ll just be $185.75 – is that on card?”  


“Yes, please.” The raven-haired woman pulled out her card from what Nami knew to be an expensive purse.  


“Thank you! Would you like me to book you in for another session in three weeks? We’ve also got a special offer right now where you get 30% off our range of body oils and lotions with every haircut.” 

Sanji observed himself in the mirror as he listened to the sounds of Nami’s ‘customer-service’ voice entangled with the music that she was playing from the aux cord. He grabbed one of the hair ties from the pocket of his apron and pulled his hair back into a small ponytail. He hadn’t realised it had grown out enough to touch his shoulders. 

“Hey blondie, I’m going out to take my break after I’m done with this client. Was that alright?” Alvida’s voice brought him back to the busy atmosphere of the salon and away from his own thoughts.  


“Ah yeah, I was just about to take a smoke break. I’ll be back in ten.”  


The woman nodded, heading towards the back-end of the salon to finish waxing her client. 

“Nami, I’m just heading out. Smoke break. I’ll be back in ten before Alvida goes off on her lunch break.” Sanji said, earning him a _yeah, yeah_ and a wave of the hand. He smiled, taking the back entrance through the staff room only to be greeted with an empty alleyway and the lightly chilly spring weather. 

Sanji lit a cigarette, pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his pants and mindlessly started scrolling through his social media. He remembered feeling the vibration of his phone earlier and opened up his text messages to discover a missed call from Ace and a long chain of messages from the group he was pulled into from said caller’s younger brother. 

**Luffy** : Franky’s tonight?  
**Usopp** : I’m in! What time?  
**Luffy** : idk 8? I get off work at 7! Wb everyone else?  
**Usopp** : I’m off at 5. I can drive Lu. 

Sanji started typing a response. He knew Nami would yell at him if he decided not to go. It was his turn to be the designated driver after all. 

**Sanji** : Nami and I are in. Can’t stay long though. Got an early shift the next day.  
**Luffy** : Aw… oh well. I’ll see ya guys soon. Gotta go back to work. I’m not even on my break lol

Sanji checked the time and noticed he only had a couple minutes left before he had to return to work. He wondered if he should return Ace’s call but decided against it. It was probably just about making sure Luffy got home safely and didn’t drink too much. He was about to pocket his phone when he felt another vibration. 

**Usopp** : I think Franky said it’s free first-drinks for singles tonight and I know you won’t turn down a free drink Sanj… 

Sanji sighed, wishing he hadn’t seen that last message as he stepped back into his salon. How the hell would they even know if you were single anyway? Franky always came up with the most eccentric themed nights for his bar. Memories of being forced to wear a mini-skirt, fishnets and heels suddenly surfaced and he bit back the urge to have another cigarette. 

“Alright pretty boy. I’m off. I’ve got a client coming in at 3:30pm so I’ll be back before then. I told Nams she can go on her break once I’m back.” Alvida reached into Sanji’s back pocket and stole his packet of cigarettes. “Payback from last time,” She winked at him before leaving out the back entrance. 

“Sanji!” Nami exclaimed, grabbing his attention from sweeping up the hair that had gathered on the floor. “What is it Nami? Did we break another record?” He walked over to her and noticed her eyes were practically twinkling as she counted the money in the till.  
“Remember that one weekend before Christmas last year?” She could barely contain her excitement and Sanji remembered why he asked her to take care of the business side of things. 

“Well to put it simply, we made more than twice that amount!” Nami gestured over to the near-empty shelf of bath oils and lotions.  


“Nami! That was full this morning!” Sanji’s jaw nearly dropped, he needed a moment to process everything. 

“I know. You can thank me by buying me drinks tonight.” Nami threw up a peace sign. 

Sanji returned her smile with his own, “I’ll buy you whatever you want. You can even take my free drink.” 

“Sanji… I don’t normally say no to a free drink and I know it’s your turn to drive, but you don’t have to. We can always Uber back to ours! Besides, it’s a singles night.” A pointed finger pressed against his chest. “Singles. Night.” She repeated, with emphasis on each word.  


“I- I’ve got an early- “  


“No you don’t! Not anymore. I got Caimie to cover the opening shift. Come on, please? This could be your only chance! We all know you don’t see any men at work besides that guy that delivers the packages and he’s so not cute.” 

Sanji sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew Nami was right but the only problem was that he hated being attracted to men. Especially men who frequented bars. He loved women. Women were beautiful, smart and not to mention generally way more hygienic. There was no way he was going to pick up someone from Franky's and have it turn out to be the romantic, long-term relationship he so desired. 

“You know Boa asked me if you were European or gay and I said both.” Nami giggled.  


“Oi- “  


“Just see where the night takes you alright? You’re gorgeous Sanji! You’ll definitely meet someone. Viv can’t come tonight so I’ll help you free of charge.”  
Sanji knew arguing with Nami was pointless once she had already made up her mind. 

“Alright, but no Operation B.”  


Nami pouts, “You’re no fun.”


	2. Rosé

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Operation B happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I don't live in America but I just wanted to post this to celebrate America's achievement today! I was going to wait a few more days until posting but thought, why not mark this occasion with some chaotic gays? ❀
> 
> Also a heads up that there is Sanji/Drake in this in case you weren't a big fan of Sanji with other people! Zoro will be end goal ofc ♥

###  Chapter 2: Rosé 

> #####  **Rose:** _A symbol of love and passion._

Nami believed in the philosophy that showing up late (but not too late!) was advantageous since everyone was already slightly tipsy, the mood was set and you could make an _entrance_. This reasoning was why the two of them arrived at the bar a little over an hour past their scheduled meeting time. 

Nami had picked out Sanji’s outfit which consisted of a pair of white-wash denim jeans that did wonders for his ass, paired with a soft blue button-up (that was more like a button-down as four of the buttons were left undone) and his favourite pair of chestnut loafers. 

“Nams! Sanj! Over here!” 

Usopp called from one of the booths on the second level, waving his arm wildly in the air to grab their attention. 

“Usopp!” Nami called back over the loud music, grabbing Sanji’s wrist in order to drag him over to where the others sat.

“Nams is that the dress I saw on your Insta? It’s cute!”  
“It is quite a beautiful colour. It compliments your skin tone.”

_This must have been what Nami meant by making an entrance._ Sanji thought.  


__

“Yo! We got you some drinks already.” Luffy flashed a bright grin at the two of them. 

Sanji thanked him before sliding into the booth next to Nami and reaching for one of the colourful drinks, only to be stopped by an iron-grip from none other than Luffy himself.  


“Not for you Sanji - couldn’t get your free drink since Franky said you have to be here to claim it. He said all the singles are wearing yellow bands!” Luffy extended his arm so that Sanji could see the glow-in-the-dark accessory around his wrist.  


“Luffy… you’re not even single,” Sanji sighed.  


“I know! I got it for you!” Luffy grabbed a hold of Sanji’s hand and slid the band around his wrist, "so you won't escape!"  


“There you go again… doing something against someone’s will.” Sanji retracted his arm, staring at the glowing ticket to a free drink and not to mention a not-so-subtle cry to get laid.

“Hey, at least you get to know who’s available right? Then we won’t have a repeat of that situation from last year- “  


“If you keep talking, I will kick that nose in, you got it?” Sanji warned, resulting in a satisfactory yelp from Usopp. He had to admit that albeit the absurdity of wearing his status on his arm, it would no doubt be helpful for his current situation. 

__

“Want to come with me to the bar, Sanji? We need to get you your free drink.” Nami got up from her seat and Sanji noticed both of her glasses were now empty.  


“Robin, do you want anything?” She asked.  


“Another glass of Pinot Noir would be lovely, thank you,” Robin answered with a smile.  


“Can you get me another Strawbe-rry Daiquiri?” Luffy hiccupped before laughing and falling back onto the couch. If Ace’s call had anything to do with watching his little brother then Sanji definitely needed to keep an eye on that tonight. 

__

“Lu, you already had like three of those. Nams, don’t get him anything.” Usopp advises, holding Luffy upright.  


“Wasn’t planning to. Come on, Sanji!” Another grip on his wrist and Sanji was beginning to feel like his friends wanted to get him laid more than he did.  


__

“Where’s Law tonight? I got a call from Ace at work and I think he wanted me to watch Luffy tonight!” Sanji had to yell above the music as the two of them waited to be served at the bar.  


“He’s working late at the hospital! Don’t worry, I think Usopp is taking the babysitting gig off you!” Her body started swaying to the beat of the song and Sanji wished he would loosen up a little. She also looked amazing in that short red dress. Robin was right. It did compliment her skin tone. 

__

“Hey! I was wondering when you two would show up!” Franky finished pouring a beer for one of his customers before giving his undivided attention to Sanji and Nami. Franky was wearing his signature Hawaiian shirt which was never buttoned, giving everyone a full view of his untamed chest hair. A pair of sunglasses rested on his nose bridge despite being indoors and he topped his look off with a massive gold chain that hung around his neck.

__

Sanji didn’t know when Franky started becoming a part of their circle of friends but he was glad it happened. Although the man looked like he came off a cruise ship carrying a bunch of tourists, he still loved him for lending an extra ear to Sanji whenever he felt like getting something off his chest. He knew everyone else felt the same way, which meant that he was a great friend but also that he dangerously had blackmail material on all of them – not that he would utilise that to his advantage at all.

__

“A Snowy Sour for the bangin’ lady and one free glass of Rosé for the pretty blonde.” Franky flashed them a grin and shot them a finger gun before sliding them their drinks. 

__

“Your wife wants another glass of Pinot Noir,” Nami requested.

“Ow! Sure thing. I’ll personally bring it to her so don't worry about it!” 

Nami grabbed a seat on one of the bar stools and Sanji followed suit, drink in hand.  


"So… anyone catch your eye?” Nami rested her chin on the back of her hand while she shot Sanji the familiar cheeky expression that made him feel like they were high-school girls.  


“Not really… I haven’t checked.”  


Sanji took the opportunity to survey the bar which was also connected to the dance floor. It wasn’t too packed which made it a lot easier for Sanji to ‘browse’ as Nami termed it. A lot of the men wearing the bands that Sanji could see were pretty average looking. They didn’t particularly stand out to him too much. 

__

That was when his eyes landed on _him_. 

__

He was tall – must’ve been at least 6’4, Sanji gathered he was very muscular from the black V-neck that hugged his torso. His eyes trailed down towards the black leather pants which made his legs look as delicious as liquorice. Nami must have known he was staring at him as her attention was now given to the same man. 

__

“Red-head huh?” She grinned mischievously at Sanji. 

__

“I couldn’t help it. He’s wearing leather for god’s sake!” Sanji felt his face heat up a little, unsure if it was the wine hitting him or something else.  


“He’s cute! But… we have to know if he’s interested...” 

_No. Not that. He specifically told her he would **never** do that again._

“Op-era-tion. B.” 

“Nami!”

“Hey! I didn’t pick out those tight jeans for no reason! Sanji, for me? Just once more.” Sanji sighed, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette before realising they were still inside.  


“Once more. For you,” Sanji confirmed before finishing off his glass in one gulp.  


“Ah! I dropped my phone!” Nami announced as loudly as she could until the red-haired man turned to look in their direction.  
Sanji took a deep breath, wishing he hadn’t agreed to do this but it was too late to back out. The operation was now officially underway as he felt Nami’s hand tap his lower back. That was the signal. 

__

Sanji got off the barstool, his back towards the man (or their target) and slowly bent down, ensuring his ass was prominently in the air as he picked up Nami’s phone from the ground. Thanks to his particular hobbies he was flexible enough to touch his toes without bending his knees, which happened to be the origin story for Operation B or Operation Bend down and show them your ass to see if they’re interested, but fortunately, that title was too long. 

__

“Here is your phone, my lady.” Sanji placed the phone back in Nami’s hands.

“Sanji, he’s walking over.”

“What.”

Sanji glanced over and sure enough, the red-head was walking towards them. Towards **him**. Nami had already returned to acting nonchalant, facing the other way and chatting up one of the other ladies at the bar.  


_Shit, he was on his own._

__

“Um… hey,” The man greeted him with a bashful smile. Sanji didn’t expect the man to be so shy given the fact that again, he was wearing leather pants.  


“Hi.” Sanji simply returned the friendly greeting, feeling his heart race a little.  


“I’m sorry if I’m being forward… but you’re just the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen,” The red-head admitted. 

__

A pink hue was now gracing Sanji’s cheeks. He wasn’t expecting the man to be so direct but then again, he did draw his attention to him with his ass.  


“Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself. May I ask your name?”  


“Drake. And yours?” Drake grabbed the stool on Sanji’s left.  


“Sanji.”  


Sanji leaned against his hand, admiring the blues of his eyes and his pronounced chin that only further complimented his handsome face. 

__

“Let me buy you another drink, Sanji.” 

__

__

❀

__

_  
_

“No way, you were born up north too?” Sanji chuckled, swirling what must have been his third? Or fourth glass of wine. He was beginning to feel light-headed, the buzz of alcohol rushing through his bloodstream causing him to loosen up very quickly. He and Drake had made their way towards a secluded area of the bar in a small booth downstairs across from the dance floor.  


“Yeah, I was raised there. I moved to the city to uh…” Drake scratched his nose awkwardly. Sanji noticed the man did that whenever he was feeling nervous.  


“To?” Sanji pressed his shoulder against Drake’s, craning his head up to watch the man intently.  


“To… become a cop. I hope that doesn’t change your impression of me. I’m off-duty this week and I don’t really care what people get up to when I’m not working.” 

__

“Hm? Well, I hope you don’t arrest me for doing bad things to you tonight.” Sanji placed his glass down on the table before slinging one arm around Drake’s neck, his fingertips grazing the short ends of Drake’s hair. The man’s breath hitched a little and the red tint on his face had now spread to the tips of his ears. The thought of the man in his uniform cuffing him to the bedpost while he fucked him senseless took up 80% of his current thoughts, the strong urge to kiss his lips being the other 20%. 

__

Luckily, he didn’t have to dwell too much longer on that 20% as Drake was now pressing his lips against his own. The kiss started gentle but once Sanji slipped his tongue in his mouth and gripped the back of his neck with both of his arms did it turn into a heated, desperate exchange.  
They only broke apart to breathe before returning to clash their mouths together once again. Sanji couldn’t remember the last time he made out with a man as gorgeous as Drake but damn it felt _good._  
Once he felt the man’s rough hands around his waist, he practically climbed into his lap like it was the easiest thing in the world. 

__

“My place?” Drake rasped and Sanji only nodded in response. 

__

**[Bonus]**

__

“Yo! is that Sanj down there hitting it off with a man?!” Usopp leaned over the railing to observe the man in question speaking to a red-head.  


“Where?!” Luffy bounced off his seat to join Usopp by the railing. “Oh, he’s cute! I like them tall.”

Nami glanced up from her spot at the bar to give her friends a thumbs up.  


“Operation B,” Usopp and Luffy confirmed at the same time.  


“He hates it but it works almost every time!” Luffy laughed, Usopp keeping a steady arm around his friend so that he didn’t accidentally tumble.  


Now that everyone knew Usopp had the babysitting gig, he was at risk of being mercilessly lectured by Luffy’s older brothers and not to mention making an enemy of his creepy surgeon boyfriend. He shivered at the thought. His friend was truly surrounded by some dangerous people.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't expecting to get all the kudos and comments from my first ever published chapter so thank you all! Scream to me about OP and I'll yell back because I love it so much.  
>  **Side note** : I only started OP in August this year and am now up to date!  
> Also lmk if you want to see more North Blue boys because I may grant it.


	3. Daffodils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mosshead arrives ❀  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's also Zoro's birthday today so Happy Birthday Zoro! ♥

###  Chapter 3: Daffodils 

> #####  **Daffodil:** _Known for its symbolism of new beginnings and rebirth. Respect or unrequited love, return my affection._

"-Ji…Sanji…” 

Sanji slowly opened his eyes, greeted with the light of the sun breaking in through the window. That was strange, he didn’t remember having a vase of daffodils on his windowsill. 

Shit. 

Memories of last night suddenly resurfaced and they were partnered with a heavy migraine, a dry throat, and just the tiniest sprinkle of holy-fuck-I-have-work-today.

Sanji tried to prop himself up despite his body’s resistance, regretting it as soon as he felt the room spin from sitting up too quickly. 

“Your phone’s been ringing for half an hour. I tried to wake you up but –“

Sanji immediately reached over to grab his phone from the bedside table and glanced down at the several missed calls and urgent texts from quite possibly everyone who worked at Delphinium. It was only 9:30am and he remembered Nami saying she got Caimie to open, which meant that he didn’t have to start until noon. 

Something must have happened. 

“Shit! You should’ve tried harder! Sorry, I just really have to make a call.”

Sanji quickly rang Nami, ignoring the unread texts for the moment. It was a lot faster to call. 

“Sanji! Where the hell – I’ve been trying you for half an hour!”

The voice on the other end of the line was one that Sanji hadn’t heard in a while. He was taken aback from how pained she sounded, that it damn near brought him back to that incident with Luffy and his brothers from two years ago. He gulped, if something had happened because he decided it was a fun idea to go home with some hot red-head from a bar last night then he would never, ever forgive himself. 

“Nami, I’m sorry. I was- nevermind. Are you and the others okay? What’s happened?” 

Drake shuffled uncomfortably next to Sanji before getting out of bed and heading into the kitchen. It wasn’t his business to pry, but it didn’t sound like anything good was happening. 

“It’s Delphinium… she was robbed last night.” 

Sanji gripped the sheets and bit down hard against his bottom lip. Hell, he didn’t know where he was, but he had half a mind to jump out the window and run towards her if he could. He gripped his phone tightly until his fingers turned pink, feeling his heart thump against his ribcage. He had to calm down or else he would probably end up shouting at Nami. 

“Is everyone okay?” He repeated. 

“Yeah. Caimie’s still a little shaken up since it was like this when she got there to open this morning. I told her she could go home but she wanted to stay for witness reports or whatever. The cops are here and are speaking with Alvida too.” 

“And the clients?” 

“Already taken care of. I rescheduled everyone who was supposed to come in today. How soon can you get here? The cops want to speak to you too.” 

“I don’t know. I can’t remember how far the cab ride was last night but I don’t think it’ll be more than half an hour. Call me if anything else comes up okay? Just try to stay with Caimie.” 

“Idiot Sanji. Who do you take me for?” 

Sanji felt his anger subside once he heard Nami’s reassuring voice. It seemed like it went both ways. 

“The only thing that matters is that everyone’s okay. I’ll get there as soon as I can.” He hung up, pulled his knees close to his chest and buried his face in his arms. 

❀

Nearly an hour later, Sanji arrived at the street about a block away from Delphinium courtesy of Drake. Sanji felt bad for the man as he barely had time to apologise properly for going off at him earlier that morning. Drake even offered to cook him breakfast before he left, though Sanji rejected the offer and instead lied that he had to be at work to cover for someone who felt ill. He opted not to tell Drake about the robbery, but the man offered to drop him off and he had no choice but to take it and then panicked and told him to stop somewhere nearby so he could walk over. 

“Just here is fine. Thanks.” Sanji was about to step out of the car before a small tug on his shirt pulled him back. 

“Will I see you again, Sanji?” 

Sanji swallowed the lump in his throat. God, did his chest have to hurt like this? The man was nice, attractive and they seemed to get along from what he could remember of their conversation last night, but he just couldn’t focus on someone else at the moment. It wouldn’t be fair to Drake if Sanji tried to continue whatever they had based on half-assed feelings and the emotional baggage that was sure to weigh them down after today. 

“I’m sorry, Drake. I’ll- I have to go. Thank you. For everything.” 

The man responded by letting go of the gentle hold on Sanji’s shirt. Sanji allowed that moment to linger a little before he stepped out of his car. 

He didn’t look back. 

❀

Sanji sprinted towards Delphinium but stopped just short of her once he saw the police car out the front and felt the crunch of smashed glass under his shoes. He almost didn’t want to believe such a horrible thing had happened until it was right there in front of him. Two of the window panels were completely shattered and the wall was smothered in graffiti. He noticed a spray painting of a skull wearing some sort of pirate hat with some illegible writing underneath. 

“Sanji!” 

Sanji turned to catch the woman who sprinted towards him in an embrace. 

“I’m so sorry…” Nami sniffled into his shoulder. 

“Don’t be sorry, Nami. It’ll be okay. Del’s a fighter.” 

Sanji stroked his friend’s hair, the urge to get through a whole packet of cigarettes overtaking his entire being. 

“The thieves took all the money in the till and some of the stock in the back room. Then those assholes decided it’d be fun to trash the place! The mirrors are all broken and there’s filthy spray paint everywhere!” 

Nami finally pushed away from Sanji, rubbing her eyes. Sanji wanted to kick himself for not being there for her and the others earlier. It was just his luck that the timing of everything couldn’t have been any worse. 

“We could’ve even broken a record-“

“We did break a record.” Sanji interjected, placing a comforting hand on Nami’s shoulder. 

“Sanji! Nami!” 

Another pair of arms were flung around the both of them belonging to their youngest staff member. 

“Caimie, I’m sorry I couldn’t get here any earlier. I’m sorry you had to see that. You can go home if you want.”

“But-“ 

“Caimie. Sanji’s right. You should go home and rest. The cops are done speaking with you right?” 

Caimie nodded, wiping away the tears from her face with the back of her hand. 

“That reminds me, the cops wanted to speak to you Sanji. I’ll call Viv and see if she can help us with the legal side of things. Alvida also let Perona know not to come in today. I haven’t been able to talk to Alvida at all since one of the cops has been stuck to her all morning,” Nami informed. 

“Tch. Could this day get any shittier?” Sanji rubbed his temples in an attempt to soothe his headache. The prospect of talking to a cop after sort of dumping one only moments ago was kind of ironic. 

“I’ll take Caimie home. Call me if you need.” Nami linked her arm with Caimie, the latter still trying to compose herself. 

“Yeah, thanks. Um Nami?” 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell the others yet. We can’t have Luffy running wildly on the streets threatening to beat the thieves up just yet.” 

A soft smile crept on his face. Nami was always a step ahead of himself. The both of them knew alerting their friends immediately would only cause more of a commotion. They would break the news to them eventually, but the timing had to be right. It would also be beneficial for them to relay the news once they had further direction from Vivi and not to mention the cops. 

Speaking of which…

Once Nami and Caimie were out of sight, Sanji finally pulled out a desperately needed cigarette and lit it with his favourite gold lighter before cursing his fate.

❀

Sanji chewed on his cigarette, feeling his migraine return with a vengeance. The front door which previously read Delphinium in a delicate font was now replaced with the same symbol spray-painted on one of the walls. It must have either been some dumbass kids who thought it was a funny joke or… 

“Hold it.” 

The unknown voice snapped Sanji out of his trance and he turned to meet the glare of a uniformed officer. The man stood around his height (possibly a few centimetres taller) wearing a navy short-sleeved shirt that exposed his muscular, tanned arms. There wasn’t really anything else that particularly stood out to him other than the three gold earrings hanging from his left ear and – wait, did he have _green_ hair? Not that Sanji wasn’t used to seeing coloured hair, but he never would’ve expected it on a cop. 

“Civilians aren’t allowed to cross the tape. Go back to doing whatever the hell you were doing.” 

Sanji must have been so lost in his thoughts that he failed to see the yellow police tape. 

“Wait just a damn minute, I’m the owner of this place," Sanji retorted. 

The green-haired man kept his gaze on Sanji, a short silence fell between the two of them before the cop opened his mouth to speak again. 

“Do you have I.D on you?”

“Uh- yeah. Hang on.” 

Sanji grabbed his wallet from his jeans and handed the man his driver’s license. He was glad he remembered to pocket it before he left Drake’s apartment or he would have had to face the man again… or just freeze all of his cards, get a new license and there were only twenty dollars in there anyway. 

The cop held the card up to compare the image against Sanji’s face. 

“Yeah, this is you.”

“Excuse me? Of course, it’s me!” 

“The curly-brow confirms it.” 

“Shut up! Give it back-“

“I need to record your details to do up the police report and then I can return it. For now, why don’t you tell me about what happened once you left the store and any other details from last night that might help with the investigation? We’ve already taken statements from your staff who were here today.” 

Sanji sighed, exhaling some smoke to clear his head a little. 

“Nami and I left Delphinium at 6:00 pm together. I normally close on a Friday night but Alvida offered to do it since Nami and I were going out with a couple of friends for drinks.”

“We can’t pinpoint the exact time of the offence other than it happened between 7:00 pm and 7:00 am. The thieves didn’t need a key to break in since it’s clear that it was a forced entry. The till wasn’t pried open which meant that they likely had a key to get into it. Who’s got copies of the key?” 

“Myself, Nami and – wait, are you saying that this was an inside-job?!” 

“Calm down, curly. Never said that. We just need this kind of info for the report.” 

Sanji groaned before muttering, “Alvida. The others haven’t closed before.” 

Sanji slid his hands into his pocket and tapped his shoe on the ground repeatedly. It was clear that the robbery wasn’t the carefully-planned out type, in fact, it was rather messy, but to even think it could have been a covert inside-job involving one of his own staff members? The thought made him want to laugh. 

“We noticed you have a security camera, so we’ll have to take the tape back to the station and run it before we get back to you. Do you have any other security measures?” 

“Um… no.” 

Sanji waited impatiently for the green-haired cop to take down all of his notes on some sort of device. He scratched at his goatee, peeking over the man’s shoulder to get a good look at the _state_ of Delphinium. The space they used to share stories and experiences, the expensive chairs and the rose gold floors tainted with scuffed marks and glass, the wall that was once covered in decorative delphiniums all torn to shreds scattering fragile pieces of sapphire and lilac. Everyone spent hundreds of hours working on Sanji's dream and it was completely violated in only a matter of seconds. 

“Do you have insurance?” 

“Yes.”

“Do you have any suspicions related to the motive of the thieves or who they might be?” 

“No.”

“Do you give us consent to review all of the security footage taken on Friday the 10th of April and the morning of Saturday the 11th of April?” 

“Yes.”

“Do you wanna grab lunch?”

“Yes- wait!”

Sanji nearly swallowed his cigarette and choked on it at that last question. He wasn’t even sure if he heard it right or if his damn hungover-self was playing mind games with him. Did the annoying cop just ask if he wanted to grab lunch? With him? 

“Oi, just gonna take a break.” The cop announced behind his shoulder to a female cop with raven hair and red glasses who appeared to have been speaking with Alvida. 

“Hey! I didn’t- “Sanji tried to protest that he was caught off-guard when responding to the cop’s earlier proposition but he was completely ignored. 

“Just be quick, okay Zoro? And don’t get lost like you did last time!” She scolded. 

_What was this man? A child?_

“Shut up! It was a confusing place!”

Sanji sighed, listening to the two of them bicker. The cop known as Zoro seemed to be quite childish even while he was working. He wondered how he managed to get the job with a temper like his. And more importantly, he definitely did not want to go to lunch with some cop, especially after what happened last night and earlier in the morning. And why the hell was he attracting cops all of a sudden anyway? 

“Oi, blondie. Let’s go.” 

“Wait. Zoro- was it? I didn’t mean to say yes. It sort of just…came out.” 

But the universe wasn’t done with him yet. Suddenly, as if the only thing he could get right was comedic timing, his stomach started to rumble and he looked down at the ground out of embarrassment. What did he do to deserve this kind of punishment? 

“Your stomach seems to disagree with you. Come on, there’s a good burger place close by.” 

Sanji looked up to see the man grinning at him. Damn, he was cocky. 

If Sanji didn’t go along with him, he wouldn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t like he could work today anyway. Besides, he skipped breakfast and it was nearly noon and he was not a fan of skipping meals. A distraction also sounded pretty tantalising after what transpired in the last 24 hours. Yeah, that’s all this was going to be - 

A distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Sanji...  
> Anyway, I originally backlogged this to next week but rly wanted to post for Zoro's bday so... the next chapter will come out a week later ♥


	4. Thistle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro and Sanji get to know each other over food and Sanji is oblivious ❀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter is a little shorter and also very dialogue-heavy. Enjoy!
> 
> I've also added Law/Luffy in the relationships tag as they have their own chapter coming up...

###  Chapter 4: Thistle 

> #####  **Thistle:** _associated with aggressiveness, pain, protection and pride._

Sanji couldn’t believe it. 

He didn’t want to believe it. 

The directionally-challenged green-haired cop was now sitting across from him at a burger joint named ‘Bonney’s Burgers’ after walking around the same block enough times for Sanji to stop him and ask why the hell he kept making left turns, only to receive a _shut up, I know where I’m going_. 

That was nearly fifteen minutes ago. 

They only ended up at Bonney’s Burgers after Sanji deduced it was the ‘good burger place’ Zoro was referring to as he often frequented the fast-food chain with his friends. The insatiable meat-eating monster known as Luffy would probably go off at Sanji for not inviting him, but that was another problem for another day. He couldn’t handle too many idiots at once. 

He had been relatively content with his somewhat mundane adult life. Five days a week, he would wake up before 8:00 am, take a shower, and get dressed prior to driving himself and Nami to Delphinium to open the store. There, he would spend the remaining nine hours at work until the sun had set, then closed up to go home or on occasion; visited Franky’s to see his friends. On the two days he had off, he was normally preparing lunches and dinners for the upcoming week, brushing up on his beautician skills, or doing yoga while listening to his favourite playlist or podcast. 

Then came Saturday the 11th of April, or better yet, the day he accepted a lunch invite with some cop he only just met after he was robbed by some thugs. 

“So, why did you ask me to go to lunch with you?” Sanji decided to open with the question that had been on his mind for longer than it should have and dammit, he deserved an answer at this point. 

“Why not?” Zoro responded with a mouth-full of fries. 

“Asking someone why not? Is not a proper response!” Sanji barked. 

He didn’t know why Zoro got on his nerves so much, he just _did_. If he had to be in his presence for any longer, then there was a strong possibility that he was going to get slapped with a fine for verbally assaulting a cop. 

“I was hungry and you looked hungry too, so, why not?” Zoro elaborated. 

“But why didn’t you just ask that other cop?” 

“Don’t be stupid, curly. Do you really think the two of us leaving the crime scene just so we could stuff our faces, is going to go down well? Gotta follow proper procedure. She can go when we get back.” 

Sanji sunk down into his chair. The guy had a point. 

There was silence after that so he decided to start picking at his fries so his stomach would calm down. 

“Why the name?” Zoro asked. 

“Why was I named Sanji?” Sanji tried to make sense of Zoro’s sudden question. “I don’t know. I never knew my real parents or my birth name if I even had one, since I was raised in an orphanage up North until my old man adopted me. I guess they just gave me the name Sanji.” 

Sanji was surprised all of that came out of his mouth, and to a stranger no less. He wondered if it was just the exhaustion he was feeling or the less likely explanation that Zoro had a supposed way of bringing down his walls. 

“Not _your_ name, the store name,” Zoro clarified, grinning to himself as he witnessed the blush spread across Sanji’s cheeks. 

“Then you should’ve said that at the start!” If it wasn’t for Sanji’s aversion for wasting food, then he would’ve thrown a fry at him. “I picked Delphinium because my friend Robin said it's the flower that represented me. She's a florist so -” 

“I don’t even know what it looks like but it sounds pretty, I guess.” 

Sanji tried not to think too hard about what that was supposed to mean. 

“Alright then, what sorta flower do you think I’d be?” Zoro swung an arm over his chair, keeping his gaze on Sanji. 

The question was rather amusing coming from the cop whose appearance would suggest he couldn't care less about Sanji’s response. There was no way a man like Zoro would be interested in floriography of all things. Nevertheless, Sanji thought it might be fun to humour him. 

“A thistle,” Sanji replied. 

“Is that the thing you wear on your finger?” 

“No, that’s a thimble. And I’m surprised you even know what that is,” Sanji sighed. 

“Then what is it?” 

“It’s prickly and green and… it’s actually more commonly a weed,” Sanji picked up his glass of water and twirled his straw around while offering Zoro a cheeky smile. 

Zoro just frowned at him, although his usual expression wasn’t too far from a frown anyway. Sanji expected the man to retaliate with some sharp remark but it never came. 

“Do you _like_ weeds?” 

What the hell kind of question was that? And why did it make Sanji’s heart race? 

Thankfully, he didn’t have to answer the question as they were interrupted by Zoro’s handheld radio. 

Sanji breathed a sigh of relief once he heard a female voice on the other end yelling something about hurrying back and asking if he got lost again, effectively concluding their short-lived lunch outing. 

❀

“So, let me get this straight. You’ve come home at 2:00 pm after having lunch with the cop that was assigned to help us catch those thieves?” 

Nami had her arms folded against her chest as she blocked the entryway to Sanji’s bedroom with a smug look on her face. 

“I told you on the phone that he asked me because we were both hungry. Don’t make this any weirder than it is,” Sanji defended. 

“What did you guys talk about? And did you get his number?” Nami interrogated. He was not going to be able to collapse on his bed anytime soon without giving his roommate the answers to her questions. 

“We just talked about… flowers. And no, I didn’t.” 

“Flowers? How’d you get on the topic of flowers? Did he ask about Delphinium?” 

“He just asked me where the name came from so I told him. Then he asked me what kind of flower he'd be.” 

“And what did you say?” 

“A thistle.” 

Sanji scratched his head, hoping the blood wouldn’t rush to his face again after remembering their conversation from earlier. It would only provide Nami with further leverage on the situation and he didn’t want to come to terms with that just yet. After all, he was still trying to figure out what it all meant. 

“So, you called him a weed?” Nami raised an eyebrow in confusion, “that’s not how you flirt, Sanji!” 

“I wasn’t flirting! But… then he asked me if I liked weeds.” 

“Oh my god, you’re telling me it worked?! He totally likes you!” 

“How did you come to that conclusion? Look, I’m not sure what _that_ was but he was probably just looking for some company.” 

“Okay, but why did he ask you specifically and not any of us girls?” 

“I don’t know, but that’s still circumstantial. It doesn’t mean he likes me.” 

Nami paused to think for a second, “well, what did you do after lunch?” 

“He offered me a ride home but I declined and said I’d take the train. He then told me he’d be in touch about Del.” 

“Sanji…It’s pretty obvious to me that he likes you, but if you want to wait it out then we can do that too. Want to just talk for now? I have a bottle of wine and some face masks.” 

Sanji smiled, “I’d love to.” 

But first, he had to take a shower. He still reeked of alcohol and cologne. 

❀

The next morning, Sanji woke up thinking it was Monday since he usually had Sundays off and he hadn’t worked yesterday. He remembered having lunch with a cop (he will just leave it at that) and then getting home so he could go through an entire bottle of wine with Nami as they talked about Delphinium, relationships, movies and whatever just came to mind. 

Sanji felt Belle, Nami’s ragdoll, by his feet and he figured she was hungry. She confirmed his theory with a few soft meows a second later. 

“Okay, sweetie, I’ll feed you in a moment,” Sanji climbed out of bed and opened the door to the living space. He wondered how Nami was doing, as last night she ended up crying a lot while they shared early memories of Delphinium. She told Sanji that she got in touch with her girlfriend Vivi (who also happened to be a lawyer) so that they could get the best claim from their insurance provider. 

Sanji finished preparing Belle’s food and popped the bowl down on the ground where she started to nibble away at it. 

“Morning Sanji! Viv’s coming over to work on some stuff so I’m just going to duck out to grab some coffee. Did you want anything from downstairs?” Nami asked. 

“Good morning, Nami. Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll need anything. Are you… feeling better?” 

“Don’t be silly, of course, I am. I just had to let it all out you know? Plus, I get pretty emotional after I have half a bottle of wine,” Nami reassured, popping on her ankle boots. 

“Just take care of yourself,” Sanji reminded. 

“I'll be fine, you just worry about yourself. I’ll be back in a bit!” 

Once the door closed behind her, Sanji let out a deep breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He should probably get started on breakfast, especially now that Vivi was coming over. Perhaps he could prepare a few omelettes with a fruit platter? 

While he was dicing up the vegetables, there was a knock at his door. 

That must have either been Vivi or Nami returning to grab something she forgot. 

He opened the door, only to slam it shut immediately once he saw the figure standing out in the hallway of his apartment. 

A green-haired figure. 

The thistle. 

**Zoro**. 

And the worst part about it was that the man definitely saw him still dressed in the clothes he slept in! Which might have been fine if it didn’t consist of a white tee and a bright pink thong! 

He cursed to himself. It was far too late to climb out the window and pretend he wasn't home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thanks again for all your lovely comments and feedback! Everyone's been so kind wtf 🥺
> 
> The Zoro-not-knowing-what-a-thistle-is was also inspired by the [Wrong Number fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4612518?view_full_work=true) which happened to be the first zosan fic I read and remains one of my favs!


	5. Chrysanthemum Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro and Sanji discuss the events that occurred at Delphinium and Sanji finally breaks the news to his friends.

###  Chapter 5: Chrysanthemum Tea 

> #####  **White Chrysanthemum:** _a symbol of loyalty and honesty._

If there ever was a competition to determine who could put their sweatpants on the fastest, Sanji would have won with record timing. 

After wearing the additional piece of clothing on his hips, he sprinted out of his bedroom so he could open the door again, but this time without being humiliated. It was one of the most embarrassing things to have happened to him in his 24 years of life, but between letting go of his pride and ghosting a cop, he had no choice but to go with the former. 

“Nice pant –“ 

“Don’t. Just tell me why you’re here and how you managed to find out where I live,” Sanji dismissed. 

Zoro held up Sanji’s driver’s license between his fingers, “forgot to give this back to you yesterday.” 

Of course! How could Sanji have forgotten? It wasn’t that he didn’t consciously think about the man whenever he was left alone with his thoughts, though that specific detail must have slipped his mind. He also wondered how the man got lost finding a burger joint across the street yet somehow managed to find his address. Sanji reached out and snatched the card from Zoro’s hand, pocketing it in his pants and mentally keeping note that the cop now knew where to find him and whether moving to a different apartment was a viable option. 

“I wanted to go over some stuff relating to the robbery. Can I come in?” 

Sanji glanced down the hallway and figured it would be awkward for the two of them to have that kind of conversation out in the open. He also self-indulgently took the opportunity to take in Zoro’s attire. He was dressed in his civies, which consisted of a plain white shirt underneath a khaki jacket and a pair of denim jeans with combat boots. Even Sanji had to admit the man looked _good_ but that was beside the point. Why was Zoro discussing work matters with him on his day-off anyway? 

“Is there a no-pants rule inside?” Zoro grinned. 

“Just hurry up and get inside before I change my damn mind!” 

❀

Zoro sat down on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter while Sanji worked on preparing the omelettes he initially started before the interruption. He could feel Zoro’s gaze on his back as he chopped the vegetables, causing him to almost lose his focus. 

“Do you want some tea?” Sanji asked, grabbing the kettle and filling it up with water before bringing it to boil. 

“Don’t really drink that stuff,” Zoro replied. 

“Then what do you want? Orange juice?” Sanji turned to face him with a hand on his hip. If Nami were here, she would’ve just brushed Zoro off with a _“wrong answer”_ , and poured the tea anyway. 

“Got any beer?” Zoro asked. 

“Beer? It’s ten in the morning! You know what? It’s my house, so you’re getting what _I serve_ and I’m serving tea.” 

Sanji briefly wondered if the man might have been an alcoholic, which would have been ironic if he also happened to be a cop. Reaching up to open one of the cabinets, Sanji found a box of dried Chrysanthemums and started preparing some Chrysanthemum tea. It wasn’t the ideal choice for a morning beverage, except they were all out of their black teas and he didn’t have time to go grocery shopping just yet. 

“Whatever. Just make it quick, pervert cook.” 

Sanji stopped what he was doing after that. 

Did he just call him a _pervert cook_? 

Now that he thought about it, Zoro never referred to him by his name. Granted, Sanji never introduced himself but the man obviously knew what his name was after holding onto his license for nearly 24 hours. During their first encounter, he kept calling him ‘curly’ leading Sanji to assume it was just part of the man’s childish behaviour, now, he was beginning to think he was purposely trying to rile him up. 

“I’m not a pervert cook! Where the hell did you get that idea?” 

“You’re cooking. That’s what cooks do. And you still got that pink thong on underneath your pants, right?” 

“I – it’s comfortable! And if you’re not going to use my name then I won’t use yours, you stupid Moss head!” 

The kettle started fuming to indicate the water was now boiled. Sanji turned around and poured the contents into two mugs, watching as the chrysanthemums floated to the top. 

“Here,” Sanji offered the drink to the man seated at the counter. “We ran out of black tea so that’ll have to do.” 

Zoro took a sip of the beverage before he commented, “tastes like flowers.” 

“Have you never had herbal tea? Oh right, you don’t drink anything unless it’s alcoholic,” Sanji sighed, continuing with his meal preparation. Zoro didn’t respond to him, remaining silent while Sanji felt his gaze return to his back. 

After the food was prepared, Sanji and Zoro relocated to the dining table in the living space to discuss the reason why the latter was here in the first place. “We ran the footage from the tapes but we couldn’t recognise any of the thieves. Detectives are looking into the case under the assumption that it’s related to a string of robberies that occurred in the same area in the last few weeks.” Zoro pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and slid it over to Sanji, “do you recognise this symbol?” 

The skull with the pirate hat. The same symbol that was spray-painted on the walls. Only the image on the paper was a lot clearer, displaying more features such as the thick lipstick, the pink curly hair, and the tree in the bottom right. 

“Yes. I mean no – I don’t know what it is, but I saw it a really long time ago when I was at the orphanage…” Sanji gripped his mug. He thought it looked familiar when he first saw it, but he was afraid to say anything in case he might have been wrong. 

“Up North right? What was the name of the orphanage? And where do you remember seeing it?” Sanji was surprised Zoro remembered that detail about him. 

“Theresa’s Orphanage in North Grand Line. One of the kids was drawing it but I don’t remember what he looked like or what his name was.” 

“Don’t worry about it. That’s more than enough. I also wanted to talk about something else but you’re not gonna like it.” 

Sanji took a deep breath, “what is it?” 

“They’re holding one of your staff at the station for questioning – the woman with black hair.” 

Sanji got up from his seat and lunged forward to grip Zoro by his shirtfront, “this is some sort of joke, right? I’ve known Alvida for three years! She would never do something like that!” 

“The footage caught her leaving the store and putting the key to the till in a potted plant by the front door. You wanna have a look at it yourself?” Zoro’s tone was completely serious. 

Sanji released his grip, falling back into his seat and keeping his head down. He didn’t want to believe Alvida was the type of woman who would throw away their friendship and everything they worked so hard for just to help some thieves. She wasn’t the friendliest person, but she made up for that with her reliability and skill. Sanji _trusted_ her, they all did. 

“There’s still the possibility that she was blackmailed or threatened,” Zoro stated. “So, don’t come to your own conclusion just yet, curly.” 

Sanji glanced up at Zoro. 

Was the man trying to make him feel better? 

After all, Zoro wasn’t just here to deliver bad news, he also wanted to offer him some closure. It didn’t look like they were going to get back what was stolen from them anytime soon, particularly if it had been linked to a much larger case. Though, he couldn’t help wondering if _he_ had something to do with it. There was still the chance that it was a coincidence the symbol he witnessed as a child was the same one that was spray-painted on the walls, yet the uneasy feeling in his stomach wouldn’t go away. 

“Oi, I know you’re thinking too much into this when it’s my job to do that. You got your own shit to sort out.” 

Sanji hated to admit the man was actually making a lot of sense. At this rate, he couldn’t keep his clients waiting. He still had a job to do and so did his staff. It would be far too risky to even think about reopening in a month or even three months’ time. He would have to go back to how he used to do it before he had any money – taking appointments in his own apartment. 

“…Thanks,” Sanji said. 

His tea had gone lukewarm. 

❀

Sanji had expected the day to go somewhat like this: He would wake up, prepare a nutritiously balanced meal of omelettes with a side of strawberries, bananas, apples, and Nami’s favourite tangerines for himself, Nami, and her girlfriend Vivi. They would sit outside on the balcony while basking in the morning sun before Vivi went to work on her laptop while he and Nami cleaned the apartment to prepare it for the clients he was going to see next week. 

Unfortunately, that was not what happened. Instead, he had an awkward morning run-in with Zoro, shared breakfast with him, and was now seated on the couch next to him while they watched a kendo tournament on television. Nami had texted him earlier that she was not going to make it back to the apartment until later that evening, as she and Vivi changed their minds and were now going to spend the rest of the afternoon at one of the nearby cafés. Zoro also refused to leave even after Sanji told him to _get the hell out_ two times after breakfast. 

“I’m hungry,” Zoro yawned. “Got any more food, cook?” 

Sanji was just glad he dropped the ‘pervert’. 

“We only ate two hours ago,” Sanji scoffed. “Just eat the snacks on the table.” The guy must have had a Luffy-style appetite. “Do you like watching this stuff?” Sanji grabbed a pillow and held onto it as he tried to keep up with what was happening on the screen. 

“Not only watch it. It's a hobby of mine. It’s a real shame we can’t use swords out on the field.” 

“Didn’t know you could use swords,” Sanji commented. Unsure of what to do with the new piece of information. 

“Boss at work got me into it. What about you? What else do you do besides walk around in your underwear?” 

“Will you let that go?!” Sanji threw his pillow at Zoro. So, the man’s hobbies were sword-fighting, getting lost, and being a real dick. He got it. 

“Aside from being a beautician and hairstylist, I also enjoy cooking and yoga,” Sanji responded. It was quickly becoming more normal to have conversations with Zoro, despite his annoying jabs at him. 

“Dunno how you manage to do all that.” Zoro shrugged off his jacket and flung it over the couch. 

Sanji didn’t have anything to say to that. He was far too busy trying to keep his gaze on the television and not on the man’s strong, sun-kissed arms. 

The two of them ended up having lunch together that afternoon. Sanji thought about asking Zoro if he wanted to go to a restaurant however, he didn’t want it to look like he was asking him out on a date, so he settled for cooking up a simple meal of French onion soup, served with some croutons and sandwiches. He learned that Zoro wasn’t as picky about his food as he was with his drinks, as he finished the meal without many complaints. 

“Where’d you learn to cook?” Zoro asked while Sanji loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. 

“My old man taught me. He owns the Baratie and I used to help out as a kid sometimes. I would have continued working there as one of the chefs as a back-up plan.” 

“The Baratie’s that fancy seafood place, right?” 

“Yeah. I can ask him to reserve a table for you but only if you promise to behave,” Sanji teased. 

“Got no problems with that,” Zoro smirked, “as long as you come with me.” 

Sanji was glad his back was once again turned to the man so that he couldn’t see the flustered look on his face. This was completely different from when he asked him to go to lunch when they first met. It was more… _intimate_. 

“Why are you still here anyway? It’s nearly four. Don’t you have someone to go home to?” Sanji changed the subject. 

“Nah, I live on my own.” 

“You don’t have any friends to annoy?” 

“Not really,” Zoro raised his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his seat at the dining table. 

“What about your family?” 

“Rather wouldn’t spend time with them.” 

Sanji was beginning to realise he really didn’t know that much about Zoro. Even when he asked him questions about his personal life, the man only gave him vague responses. Zoro was a cop who had to be around his age, he lived on his own presumably in Grand Line City, he enjoyed sword-fighting in his spare time, and was possibly an alcoholic who also loved to fuck with him. But there was so much more he had yet to find out. 

The door suddenly swung open and Nami announced she was home with Vivi following suit. Sanji expected that to be it but the cluster of voices behind them suggested otherwise. 

“Sanji! Got any food? I’m starving!”  
Luffy. 

“Luffy, we went over this in the car. We’re giving Sanji a break tonight and ordering take-out.”  
Law. 

“I just want to take off my shoes and drink already.”  
Usopp. 

And Zoro was still sitting right there in his apartment! 

They all stopped and stared at Zoro before slowly turning their heads in unison to look at Sanji. 

“I… I can explain.” Sanji hadn’t really thought about what to say next. Where the hell would he even start? Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to prepare a response as Nami practically opened up the floor once she asked, “is this the cop you went to Bonney’s with the other day?” 

“Wait, Sanji went to Bonney’s without me?” Luffy looked visibly upset. 

“Am I missing something here? Why was Sanji with a cop?” Usopp asked. 

“Like a real cop, not a stripper?” Luffy whispered to Law. 

“How am I supposed to know that?” Law whispered back. 

“Everyone, take a seat on the damn couch and let me explain!” Sanji raised his voice, finally silencing the room. 

❀

Sanji brought over a pot of tea to his circle of friends who were now gathered in the living space, sprawled out across the couch and the floor. There wasn’t a lot of conversation aside from Luffy asking Zoro what his name was and that he liked his hair until Law told him to save the friendly talk for later. 

“Tea, anyone?” 

“I brought over some drinks if we want to crack that open instead,” Usopp suggested. 

“That sounds pretty good to me,” Zoro agreed. 

“Got anything sweeter and fizzier?” Luffy asked. 

“Tea isn’t really my cup of tea.” Law leaned against his hand. 

“Shut up you ungrateful pigs! Just drink the damn tea!” Nami yelled. 

Vivi giggled in response, “I’d love some tea, Sanji.” 

After everyone had a cup of tea in their hands, Sanji exhaled, wondering where to begin. He kind of wished he could have just sent it in a text message. No, his friends deserved to hear about one of the biggest events of his life… and the whole thing with Zoro. 

He started with the day of the robbery (choosing to leave the night he spent at Drake’s out for the time being), leading to how he met Zoro and the lunch they shared together. He briefly described what Zoro told him in the morning and how he just ‘ended up staying’ the whole day until the others arrived. 

“Whoever those thugs are, I’m beating them up.” Luffy clenched his fist, shooting daggers into Sanji’s eyes. 

“I can’t fight for shit but I’m with Luffy. I can’t believe people would do that! And did Alvida really have something to do with it?” Usopp raised. 

“That can’t be… she would never. She must have been blackmailed. If we take the assumption that she was working with the thieves, then why didn’t she just leave the keys to the store in the plant too? It just doesn’t make any sense,” Nami leaned on Vivi’s shoulder. 

“I hate to take the opposite argument but we still can't rule out the possibility that she was working with them. She could have just kept the key to the store herself because of some other ulterior motive or to use it as some sort of an alibi. Either that or her role in the operation might have only required her to leave the key to the till, as the thieves had already planned to force their way in as bonus collateral damage,” Law remarked, earning a look from Zoro. “You’re not one of the detectives, are you?” 

“Nah, he’s just really smart. Also, he watches a lot of crime shows,” Luffy answered for him. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we shouldn't get too involved. This is a lot bigger than all of us. Zoro said detectives are on the case so we just have to focus on how we’ll get Del back up and running again,” Sanji said. 

“Sanji, aren’t you mad about what they did? Don’t you want revenge on those assholes?” Usopp questioned. 

“Of course, I do! But it’s not my job or any of your jobs, besides Zoro’s, to do that,” Sanji replied. “I know Zoro might just be a stranger to all of you but I… I trust him with this.” 

Zoro turned to look in Sanji’s direction for a moment but didn't say anything. 

“You’re right. We all have our own part in helping Del. I’ve been speaking with Nami all day about how we can get the money from your insurance claim. It'll be a long process, but we can make it happen. In the meantime, Sanji, why don’t you take clients here in your apartment?” Vivi smiled. 

“I was actually thinking about doing that. We’ll be down one staff until Alvida gets the all-clear, but we can manage, right Nami?” 

“Right. We’ll work something out,” Nami reassured. 

“So… I can’t beat those guys up?” Luffy asked. 

“No,” everyone responded in unison. 

Sanji breathed a sigh of relief once that was all out in the open. He still had to let Ace, Franky, and Robin know and not to mention informing the other girls about their new way of operating, but he pushed that onto tomorrow’s to-do list. For now, he just wanted to get out on the balcony and have a well-deserved cigarette. 

**Bonus**

“Since we’re probably going to be seeing you a lot more often, we should properly introduce ourselves,” Nami turned to Zoro once Sanji left the room for a smoke. 

“I’ll go first! My name’s Luffy, I’m 22, Grand Line City Firefighter and I love food – especially meat. Oh, and Traffy’s my boyfriend.” He put an arm around Law. 

“I’ll go next! The name’s Usopp. Also 22. I’m a Graphic designer for a start-up company called Syrup Productions. We mainly work with small businesses.” 

“My name’s Nami. I’m 23 and I’m the Business Account Manager for Delphinium. The cat in the apartment is mine and her name is Belle. If you couldn’t tell already, I’m Sanji’s roommate and Vivi’s my partner.” 

“I’m Vivi, but a lot of people call me Viv. I’m also 23. I’m a lawyer at one of the firms on the outskirts of Grand Line City. I was born in Egypt before I moved here when I was 8.” 

Law sighed once all pairs of eyes were on him, “Law. 29. I’m a Surgeon at Grand Line City Hospital.” 

“He also likes sci-fi comic boo-“ 

“-that’s enough, Luffy.” Law pressed his hand over Luffy’s mouth. 

“And you?” Nami crossed her arms over her chest. Now all pairs of eyes were on Zoro. 

“Zoro. I’m 24 and I’m a cop.” Zoro glanced over to his right, observing Sanji out on the balcony. 

“Hm… you left out that part about having a thing for blondes,” Nami smirked. 

Zoro just sipped his tea while everyone watched him, “I guess I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if people have ever had chrysanthemum tea before but it's very similar to chamomile. Vivi also mentioned that she was 23 but she's actually younger than Nami in canon, I just wanted to make them the same age. 
> 
> Next chapter will come out 27/11/20 but ty for all of your support and patience! Until then.... ♥


	6. Lily Pond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was not a date.

###  Chapter 6: Lily Pond 

> #####  **Lily:** _most commonly symbolises devotion or purity. Because of the Greek myth of Hera and Zeus, lilies are also associated with rebirth and motherhood._

After Sanji returned from his smoke break, everyone had passed around the drinks and apparently already ordered food for dinner. They were too busy chatting amongst themselves to notice Sanji, not that he minded. He just kept his gaze on Zoro who just seemed to fit in so _perfectly_. It was almost as if they had been friends for ages. 

“Liking blondes are so cliché.” 

“Yeah like your type isn’t blondes, Usopp. Wait until I tell Kaya,” Nami teased. 

“I don’t really get it but Ace really likes blondes too,” Luffy shrugged. 

“Yeah and we all know you like the tall, dark, and mysterious type.” Usopp rolled his eyes. 

“More like tall, dark, and nerdy,” Luffy corrected, earning him a glare from Law. 

“Oh, Sanji! You’re back.” Vivi handed him a bottle of beer. “We were just doing introductions, so you didn’t miss out on too much.” 

Sanji thanked her, taking the drink and finding a spot on the floor to sit. 

“Sanji, you should’ve introduced us to Zoro sooner! He’s so cool,” Luffy grinned. Sanji had a feeling the two of them would get along. He was convinced that together they made up one entire brain cell. 

“I only just met him, Luffy. I’m actually surprised you didn’t get to him first considering you know half the people in the city,” Sanji remarked. 

“Sanji, it’s your turn to tell us your type.” Usopp took a swig of his beer and Sanji realised at that moment that he may have walked in too soon. The last thing he needed was to be roasted by his friends on his preferences for men. 

“Yeah, what is your type?” Zoro repeated. 

“Moss heads don’t get to unlock those privileges yet,” Sanji responded. 

“I think you’re forgetting that most of us already know,” Nami mischievously announced. 

_Shit._

“Buff guys,” Luffy said. 

“Kind of rugged-looking but handsome at the same time, right?” Usopp added. 

“A nice back and broad shoulders.” Sanji was surprised that came out of Law. 

“A bad-boy on the outside but really soft on the inside,” Vivi giggled. 

“You’re all correct, but you’re forgetting the most important thing…” 

They all looked at Nami. 

_Oh no._

“They’re usually idiots.” 

Sanji hid his face in his hands. Why was he so predictable? All the men he had encounters with fit those exact descriptions! There was that short thing with Ace back when he was still undertaking his diploma (they didn’t really do anything besides make-out a lot) and then that one other guy - Gin, who frequented the Baratie back when he was doing casual work to earn some money. There was also Drake. Even though he never really got to know him that well before he called it quits, he definitely met all of his _physical preferences_. 

“Nami, you think all men are idiots,” Usopp laughed. 

“I know. I’m so glad I’m gay as fuck.” Nami put an arm around Vivi’s waist. 

“I think the pizza’s here!” Luffy got up from the couch and sprinted out the door. 

“It’s amazing how he can smell it from here,” Usopp commented. 

“You should have seen him at the hospital. He smelt out the locations of all the vending machines and the packaged food doesn’t even have a scent,” Law sighed. 

Sanji was just glad they all moved on from him but that still didn’t help the fact that Zoro now knew _he_ checked all his damn boxes. 

The following morning, Sanji walked out into the living space to find Zoro, Luffy, and Law asleep on his couch. He almost forgot that they stayed late last night after Usopp and Vivi left, as they had to be up early for work the next day. Law said something about doing a night shift and Luffy was off on Monday while Zoro… he wasn’t sure why Zoro was still here but he assumed he was also off-duty. 

“Alright guys, get the hell up. Don’t make me call 911.” Sanji opened the windows to allow the bright light to do half the work for him. 

Law groaned, blinking awake and stretching out his long limbs. Luffy was sprawled across both Law and Zoro in a mess of tangled body parts. Sanji couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. 

“Breakfast is ready. Afterwards, I want everyone out. Nami’s bringing the girls from Delphinium around so we can work on some stuff,” Sanji informed. That seemed to work for Luffy as he shot up immediately, his hair a mess and his shirt slipping off his shoulder. Yet, he still looked the most put-together out of the bunch. 

One down. Two to go. 

“Before you ask, there’s a double shot of Espresso, skim milk, no sugar, on the table and it’s not going to be hot forever.” 

“Thanks,” Law croaked. 

That just left Zoro. 

The Moss head was still sleeping upright, using his arms behind his head as a pillow, and was he snoring? Sanji could’ve sworn the light coming in from the windows should’ve done the trick. He knew it worked on himself whenever he had several glasses of wine. Wasn’t the man hungover? He had well over his share of drinks last night. 

“Oi, Mossy. Get up.” 

Still nothing. 

Sanji sighed, reaching over to lightly tap Zoro’s cheek a few times. He had to admit it was kind of refreshing to see the man without his usual furrowed brows. He looked so peaceful that Sanji almost felt bad for having to wake him. Almost. 

Zoro responded with a low groan, turning his head to the other side and keeping his eyes closed. 

The man was truly testing Sanji’s patience. 

“Will you get up?!” Sanji shouted. 

That managed to get Zoro to at least open his eyes. 

“You’re too damn loud,” Zoro covered Sanji’s mouth with his hand. 

In that moment, Sanji was no longer afraid of going to jail for assaulting a cop. The man was so irritating that surely any judge would reduce his sentence on the basis of that defense alone. 

The four of them sat at the dining table eating their breakfast while they made light conversation. Mostly it was Luffy, Sanji could barely follow along as the younger man never properly finished his sentences and always had a mouthful of food. Zoro remained silent as he listened; a bright pink handprint still plastered across his face. 

“Anyway, we’ve overstayed our visit. We should leave, Luffy.” Law grabbed his coat and keys once he finished his meal. Sanji appreciated that his friend knew the definition of ‘overstay’ unlike another guest in his apartment. 

“Can we check out that new amusement park?” Luffy beamed. 

“What amusement park? Don’t you mean the National Sculpture Exhibit?” Law responded. 

“Yeah! Wait- That won’t work on me twice!” Luffy frowned, following Law out of the apartment before returning to pop his head back in. “Bye Sanji! Bye Zoro! Thanks for the food! Zoro, you should come with us to Franky’s next time!” 

“Yeah, sure,” Zoro accepted. Great, now he was going to be seeing Zoro a lot more frequently. 

There was a moment of awkward silence once it was just the two of them. Though Sanji didn't necessarily despise his time together with Zoro, there was no way he was going to let the man stay any longer. He was already creeping past the 24-hour mark. _Besides, didn’t he have a freshwater lake to sink to the bottom of?_

“Um... you should probably get going,” Sanji said. 

“…Yeah. I’ll see you around.” Zoro slid on his khaki jacket and opened the door to step out into the hallway. “Thanks. By the way.” 

“Idiot… I should be thanking you. You’re the one catching the bad guys. I’m just dealing with the collateral damage, remember?” Sanji tucked a few strands of hair behind his ear. 

“I meant for this,” Zoro pointed to the faded mark on his cheek. 

“Just go before I give you another one!” Sanji shut the door in front of him. 

❀

“-and we’ll have our timesheets recorded on the spreadsheet. Make sure you include your travel time if you’re coming over to ours and you’ll get paid for those hours too,” Nami advised. 

“If we have to take the train, do we get paid for that?” Caimie raised her hand. 

“Since you’ll have to make an extra trip now, we’ll reimburse you for the extra trip only. Perona, since you’d rather have your clients go to your own apartment, make sure you record any extra payments you have to make for manicures, nail art, and colouring.” 

“Hmph. Can’t believe we have to do all this just because some idiots robbed us. Why should we have to suffer?” Perona pouted. 

“I know, Perona. But we’ll have to get used to this way of business until Delphinium is safe to reopen. We will have meetings over the phone every Wednesday to discuss KPIs, and we are not allowed to tell any of our clients about the details regarding the robbery. If they ask, just let them know we don’t know anything and not to worry. Any comments or questions?” 

Perona and Caimie shook their heads. 

“Sanji? You’ve been really quiet,” Nami’s voice brought him back to his senses. It wasn’t that he wasn’t listening, it was just that he was still thinking about what Law said the other night. What if Alvida had really betrayed them? 

“Sorry, Nami. I didn’t mean to be rude. I was just thinking about… Alvida’s clients.” He chewed down on his pen to ease his stress. Damn his oral fixation. 

“Alvida… she wouldn’t do such a thing, would she?” Caimie muttered. 

Nami and Sanji already broke the news to the other girls when they arrived, as it was only fair that they knew as much as they did. It strangely didn’t come as a surprise to Perona who guessed out of everyone she would have been the most likely suspect for an inside-job. Sanji wanted to defend Alvida, but he knew he shouldn’t. It wouldn’t have been fair to the others if he ended up protecting the wrong person. He just had to believe in her. Believe in Zoro. 

“As we said before, we don’t know, Caimie. It’s up to the cops. Let’s just keep our focus on Del, alright? Unfortunately, we will have to put Alvida’s clients on hold until we find a temporary replacement. I will take care of speaking with them so just worry about your own clients. Sanji, that means you too.” Nami looked at him. Her tone was serious but reassuring. 

“Of course, Nami.” Belle brushed against Sanji’s legs and he bent down to pick her up. It was going to be a busy week. 

Busy was an understatement. Sanji was completely burnt-out by the following Friday. He had to fit in nearly two weeks’ worth of clients in one, along with the additional fumble of getting used to where everything was placed and nearly tripping over poor Belle several times. Even though he was lying down on the couch as an exhausted mess of tired limbs before the sun had even set, it still felt good to be able to get back to what he loved doing again. 

Nami passed him a glass of water, “you’re doing great, Sanji.” 

“Thank you, Nami. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Sanji smiled, finishing off the entire glass. 

“We make a good team.” She sat down on the couch next to him, pulling up her legs. "Um... Sanji... there's something I want to tell you." 

The knock at the door interrupted their conversation, making Sanji jolt in surprise. He wasn’t expecting any other clients today, so it had to be someone else. 

“I’ll get it,” Nami offered, going over to open the door. “Oh, hey Zoro! Are you here for Sanji?” 

Zoro. Sanji had forgotten about that Moss head. It wasn’t only Zoro either. Work had practically forced him to completely ignore everything else that was going on in his life. 

“Sanji, Zoro wants to know if you want to go for a walk around the park. Can you move?” 

Sanji just groaned. 

“He’ll meet you outside in 5 minutes,” Nami said to Zoro before closing the door. 

❀

Sanji enjoyed the breeze against his skin as they walked down the path while the sun started to set on the horizon. He missed the fresh air especially after being trapped inside his apartment for two whole weeks. It felt a little warm to be wearing his woolen turtleneck. However, Nami demanded he change into something nicer than his work shirt and he argued _this was not a date!_ before frantically throwing on the first thing he grabbed from his wardrobe. It was also the second time Sanji was around a casually-dressed Zoro. His outfit wasn’t anything spectacular - just a simple pair of denim jeans and a black t-shirt, but it showed off his physique really well. _Really_ well. 

“Were you off today?” Sanji asked. 

“Nah. Finished early so I changed,” Zoro replied. “What about you? You look like shit.” 

“Thanks for noticing, Moss head.” Sanji bit down on his cigarette. Just when he was beginning to think they were going to have a normal conversation. 

“I’ve been seeing clients all week and had four hours of sleep last night. It’s exhausting but I missed it so damn much.” Sanji smiled to himself. 

Zoro stared at him for a while before he commented, “kind of figured that out.” 

“What do you mean? Did you miss me already?” Sanji teased. 

“After last week, Luffy added me to your group chat after he asked for my number. You haven’t said anything since then so I figured you were busy,” Zoro replied honestly. 

It was typical of Luffy to do something like that. He did remember hearing his phone vibrate a couple of times throughout the week. Although, it usually happened when he was too preoccupied to respond, and by the time he was finished with work, he was already knocked out. 

“I was gonna text you earlier to see if you wanted to come out for a breather but figured you wouldn’t reply so I just showed up,” Zoro added. 

Sanji blushed. The fact that this wasn’t just a random decision on Zoro’s behalf made his heart flutter. Was it possible that Zoro had been thinking about him the whole week? 

“…Sorry. I – I didn’t mean to ignore you on purpose,” Sanji apologised. He kept his gaze on the path ahead, occasionally taking glimpses of the man beside him but fortunately never making eye-contact. Zoro was a difficult person to read and even more so, understand. Then again, Sanji never understood how someone’s personality could be derived from constellations but he still enjoyed reading his horoscope every now and then. 

“There’s a really pretty lily pond up ahead,” Sanji mentioned. He normally took walks on his own through the park whenever he wanted some space just to think. It was particularly beautiful in the spring when the birds were singing and the flowers were in full bloom. 

“Probably know something prettier,” Zoro commented. 

Sanji highly doubted that. 

The path led towards a bridge that was constructed above a pond filled with lily pads. Sanji stopped to rest his arms against the top of the arch, admiring the scenery before him. The sight was so breathtaking and beautiful that it almost looked like an oil painting. 

Zoro moved to stand next to him and they just stayed like that for a while. 

“You know when I told you I didn’t have any memories of my birth parents?” Sanji finally said. 

“Yeah,” Zoro replied. 

“I do remember one thing… I think.” Sanji kept his face forward, watching the warm hue of the sky compliment the cool tones of green and blue underneath. “It was of a woman who was wearing a white hospital gown and she was smiling at me while I was braiding her hair. I think she was my mum.” 

Sanji couldn’t even remember her name or if the blonde woman in his memories was just a figment of his imagination. The one thing he did know was that the thought filled him with very real emotions that he could only describe as both pain and joy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in the middle of making a zosan playlist (particularly for this fic) If there are any songs that remind you of the pair, pls let me know ♥
> 
> Next chapter 'Golden Iris' will be a Zoro POV! It will be posted on 17/12/20 so thank you for being patient! 🙏


	7. Golden Iris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro and Sanji go on a date but things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for 1000 hits and being so patient! Here is a longer chapter from Zoro's POV posted earlier than anticipated ♥

###  Chapter 7: Golden Iris 

> #####  **Iris:** _Symbolism of wisdom, trust, hope and valor._

The first thing Zoro did when he arrived at the precinct at 7:30 am was sigh. Every morning shift started the same way: he was forced into small talk with the other offices before walking past the old lady at the front desk who greeted him with a smile he never returned. To top it all off, the chatty woman from Records always managed to get in the same lift as him and she wouldn't shut up about what she did during the week. 

He finally made it to his desk a few minutes later, which was situated across from Johnny's. 

“Morning, Zoro." Johnny greeted. He was wearing a pair of pineapple sunglasses instead of his usual Raybans. 

“Mornin’.” Zoro returned the greeting. He yawned as he turned on his computer so he could complete the report he put off yesterday so he didn’t get his ass chewed. 

“Not gonna ask me about my sunglasses?” Johnny pointed to the stupid accessory on his face. Mihawk was definitely going to hand it to him at the morning briefing. 

Zoro gave him an unamused look. “What’s with the sunglasses?” 

“Lacey gave them to me when I lost my other pair. Isn’t she cute?” 

“Was Lacey your wife or your daughter?” Zoro asked. 

“Seriously, Zoro? She’s my daughter! You’re just as bad with names as you are with directions.” Johnny took a sip of his coffee. Zoro was glad he stopped asking to get coffee with him in the mornings after he made it clear that he hated paying five bucks for something that didn’t have alcohol in it. Not to mention that one time he did go, the barista giggled after he told her his name and followed it with _‘Zoro, like the masked bandit, right?’_ He made sure never to go again. 

Zoro checked his phone while he waited to get onto the server. He didn’t really use social media so he mainly checked for any text messages. There were a few messages from Luffy but they were mostly just moving pictures. Nothing from Sanji. He wondered if he was still busy after their walk a few days ago. 

“Boss is here,” Johnny announced. Zoro tucked his phone back into his pocket. He only hoped he could find out more information about the string of robberies that he had been looking into for the past few weeks. His expectations were low though. He was probably just going to end up forced to sit at his desk until he finished his report, or go on patrol for several hours with the most irritating person Sergeant Tashigi could assign him with. He didn’t know what option was worse. 

Zoro sat in his usual spot next to Johnny at the morning briefing as he watched their Captain, Mihawk, compile his papers before moving to stand behind the podium. Just his presence alone commanded the attention of the room. 

“Good morning, everyone. You all must be very busy so I will skip the informality. As you all are aware, there are a string of robberies that have occurred in the past several months that have been linked to one of the cases that are currently under investigation by the Major Crimes Division led by Detective Brook. I understand that it is a popular topic of discussion amongst you all but as of today, all of the witness statements, reports, suspect lists, and interrogations related to the robberies on Baltigo Avenue and Alabasta Drive will belong to Major Crimes. Now then, onto –“ 

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Zoro yelled, causing everyone to turn their attention towards him. 

“Zoro, what did I tell you about using inappropriate language during the morning briefings?” Mihawk frowned. 

“I’ve been the only one looking into this case for weeks! I was the one who was there at the robbery on Baltigo -” 

“Zoro. I understand how you feel. I was there too, remember?” Tashigi interrupted. “It's not a bad thing that a more resourced division is looking into it. I apologise, Captain. Please continue with the morning briefing.” 

Mihawk cleared his voice, “very well. Zoro, speak to me in my office once I have dismissed you.” 

Zoro was too pissed off to pay attention to the rest of the BOLO alerts. He should’ve seen something like this coming when he discovered the case was a lot bigger than a simple robbery. Who was he kidding? He wasn't the person he used to be. 

Once the meeting was over, Zoro grunted before opening the door to Mihawk’s office. The man’s expression was the usual – piercing gold irises that never blinked, accompanied by the same old vertical line for a mouth. The man was impossible to read. 

“Take a seat, Zoro,” Mihawk instructed. 

Zoro proceeded to do as he was told, refusing to look Mihawk in the eyes. 

“I know you are upset, but you mustn’t let this affect your ability to work. I have been informed by Sergeant Tashigi that you have an impressive lead on the case but I forbid you from following it. You will hand over all the information to me so that I may pass it onto Detective Brook.” 

“You know I can handle this better than any of those guys at Major Crimes. I can fucking do it with one eye closed,” Zoro refuted. 

“You will do as I say Zoro or I will suspend you without pay for a week.” Mihawk’s monochrome voice made Zoro want to punch him in his creepy face. He thought out of everyone, Mihawk would at least be able to understand where he was coming from. 

“Who is it this time?” Mihawk queried. 

A brief memory of Sanji flashed before him. 

_I trust him on this._

“No one. I just think this is bullshit,” Zoro responded. 

“Very well. I only asked as I am simply taking precautions. We don’t want a repeat of the situation from three years ago, understand? You were and still remain one of my best detectives. You just need to learn to control your emotions or else you will find yourself in a grave quicker than you can draw your sword. Now go, I believe you have a report to finalise.” 

Zoro stood up abruptly and was about to open the door to leave when Mihawk’s voice made him stop. 

“Oh, and one more thing.” 

He turned around, “what?” 

“Inform Johnny he needs to remove those ridiculous sunglasses.” 

❀

Zoro spent the next two hours working on his report until he was ordered by Tashigi to kit-up and take one of the patrol cars out with Johnny to Achipelago Avenue. When he asked Tashigi about the sudden order, she simply replied with _“Captain figured you would be better out there on the field than trapped inside doing paperwork.”_ He only scoffed at that. The man might have believed he was doing it for Zoro’s benefit, but in reality, Zoro only saw it as pity. He didn’t need to concern himself with him or his wellbeing. 

“Fucking hate Achipelago. It’s always filled with rich bastards,” Johnny commented. He leaned against the steering wheel while they were parked by the sidewalk, watching pedestrians. “They blow like five grand on an ugly snakeskin purse but when you book ‘em for parking they act like they’re broke.” 

Zoro rested his chin on his hand as he looked out the window. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he figured it was Luffy sending more of those obnoxious moving images about how bored or hungry he was (why couldn't he just type it out or keep that information to himself?!) but the name on the screen did not read Luffy. It wasn’t even a message from the group chat. 

**Sanji** : I just realised I never thanked you for the other day. So, thank you. Hope your day isn’t too shitty, dumb Moss head. 

“Zoro - you’re doing something weird with your face,“ Johnny commented. Shit, his partner must have been yacking on again and Zoro’s silence caused him to wonder what he was doing. It didn’t take long for Johnny to put two and two together. “Holy fuck, were you _smiling?!_ And you were looking at your phone! You DO have a crush!” 

“Shut up, Johnny. You’re on the job,” Zoro brushed him off. 

“Don’t be like that, man! I thought relationships weren’t your thing? What happened to 'dating is for sad and desperate people?'” Johnny questioned. He was still right about everything. Zoro avoided dating because relationships were more trouble than they were worth. Whenever he had the urge to scratch an itch, he’d just pick someone up at a bar and ignore them the morning after. It was just easier to manage. 

“I still think that,” Zoro confirmed. 

“Don’t fucking lie! I’m not letting this go. Who is it? Is it that blonde chick from the bar we went to last week? Nah, couldn’t be. You’re a hit it and quit it kinda guy.” 

“Oi, someone’s just gone 40 in a 20 zone.” Zoro announced, bringing Johnny’s attention back to the task at hand. He thought about letting the guy get away with a warning for helping end their conversation. 

It was around 5:30 pm when Zoro opened the door to his dark, dingy apartment. It was small, but the rent was cheap and it was more than enough room for him. He didn’t really cook and as long as there was a place to shit and a bed, he was fine with whatever. His thoughts wandered to the past when his previous partner - Kuina, invited herself over and immediately suggested he find a better place to live since ‘it was kind of depressing’. If she were still alive, she’d probably have beaten him up for living in the same apartment for over five years. 

He opened the fridge and grabbed himself a beer. Once he opened the bottle, he removed his shirt and settled into his old couch before turning on the television. The screen and the sliver of moonlight from the gap in the blinds were the only sources of light in the room as he still hadn’t gotten around to fixing his light bulbs. It was only after he flicked through a few channels that he realised he hadn’t responded to Sanji. 

Reaching into his pocket to grab his phone, Zoro quickly typed a response. 

**Zoro** : it could’ve been better. Don’t overwork yourself unless you wanna look like a dead duck. 

Zoro put his phone down next to him, glancing back at the crime show on the television. It wasn’t even a minute later before he heard his phone vibrate again. 

**Sanji** : at least I’m not a fucking plant! And if you’re concerned about me, I actually finished an hour ago. 

Zoro grinned to himself. 

**Zoro** : What you doing now? 

**Sanji** : I was going to prepare dinner but Nami’s gone out to eat tonight so I thought I might change my plans. 

**Zoro** : oh yeah? To what? 

Sanji didn’t respond right away so Zoro turned his attention back to the television. Five minutes passed before Zoro’s phone vibrated again. He immediately picked it up to read Sanji’s response. 

**Sanji** : What are your plans for dinner? 

**Zoro** : Whatever you have in mind 

**Sanji** : Bastard. Baratie – 6:30 pm? 

Zoro checked the time on his phone – 6:00 pm. Fuck, he had half an hour to get dressed and maybe even take a shower for the first time in three days. 

**Zoro** : sounds good. Need a lift? 

**Sanji** : Thanks for the offer but I’m taking my own car. Just don’t be late or get fucking lost because I will not waste my fuel on finding you. 

Zoro switched off the television and headed into his bedroom to find something to change into. He didn’t own any suits since he hated how restricted he felt in them – not that there was ever an occasion where he would need to wear them anyway. He settled on the closest thing he had to fancy clothing; which was the navy button-up shirt Kuina bought him and a pair of black chinos and dress shoes to match. Now all he needed to do was take a shower and get to the damn restaurant. 

If it weren’t for the horrible traffic, Zoro would have actually been on time for once, but for some reason, the entire city’s population had to pile up on Sambas Road at exactly the same time as him. Fortunately, parking wasn’t as big of an issue and soon enough, he was parked and headed towards the direction of the famous seafood restaurant that was definitely going to bring back some unwanted memories and make him stick out like a loose nail. 

But it wasn’t about him. 

The place obviously meant a lot to Sanji and Zoro wasn’t going to make him feel piss-poor about it just because of his own experiences. Especially if it belonged to his adoptive father. 

The Baratie earned its popularity for its stellar food, customer service, and the gimmick that it floated on the water instead of being on land. And tonight, Zoro was going to be one of those patrons that only saw it as that and nothing more. Zoro waited by the entrance where a large queue had formed and wondered if Sanji was already inside until he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

“You’re late.” 

Zoro spun around to find Sanji standing behind him in the most gorgeous suit he had (and will probably ever) see. He wore a blush coloured blazer that was printed with white outlines of flowers, a silky white button-up that teased the pale skin underneath, and ivory pants with a belt that matched the colour of his heels. Half of his hair was gelled back and he smelled like the expensive fragrance store that Zoro accidentally walked into once. The man looked like a model that came off the runway at some fashion show in Europe and Zoro looked like he worked at some bar in comparison. He had to mentally force himself to look away and gather his thoughts so he could form a coherent sentence. 

“You uh – look good,” Zoro managed to say. Smooth. Real, fucking smooth. 

“You too.” Sanji smiled. “Come on, I’ll show you to our table.” Sanji walked past the line of eager patrons who were turning their heads to give Sanji the same look Zoro had. It pissed him off enough for him to follow a little too closely behind the blonde as they headed inside. 

Sanji led them towards a table that was located by the large glass window that gave them a full view of the stars in the night sky. There was a fancy candle holder carrying three lit candles at varying heights (Zoro had no clue why they needed that many candles) and cutlery that looked like it was made out of gold, along with napkins that were a thicker material than some of Zoro’s clothes. 

“I hope you don’t mind that I already ordered for both of us. If there’s something else on the menu that you want to try, then I can call for the waiter.” Sanji slid the menu over to Zoro. 

“Nah, I don’t really care what I eat. You’re the cook so I’ll have whatever you recommend.” 

“I’m flattered, but are you sure? You don’t have a favourite food? What about allergies?” Sanji asked before he paused. “I guess I should’ve asked about allergies earlier.” 

“Not allergic to anythin’. And I don’t really have a favourite food. Just nothing too sweet,” Zoro responded. His appetite was a bit weak, though he wasn’t going to admit that. 

_Zoro, you must understand that this happened because it was your fault. I warned you not to get ahead of yourself, especially without proper backup, and yet you still disobeyed my order. If you had not become irrational at that moment then Kuina would still be alive._

Zoro clenched his fist underneath the table as he remembered the sharp words that pierced through him like swords. The memory manifested itself in the form of a large scar that ran across his chest that still ached whenever he thought about it. Suddenly, he found that simply breathing the air became suffocating. 

“Zoro?” Sanji’s voice rescued him from going down that mental path. 

“What?” Zoro failed to notice the waiter who was now standing by their table with a bottle of wine in their hands. 

“I asked if you were okay with the Merlot,” Sanji repeated. 

“Don’t care,” Zoro replied, bluntly. 

Sanji frowned at him before he turned to the waiter with a smile, “Merlot would be lovely, thank you.” 

Once the red liquid was in their glasses, the waiter left the two of them alone and Sanji’s original scowl returned. “What the hell is your problem, Moss head? You’re acting like I forced you to come here.” Zoro could tell that Sanji was trying desperately hard to keep his voice down. He knew how much the blonde loved to yell at him. 

“Don’t have a problem. Maybe you're the one with the problem.” Zoro leaned back in his chair. He recalled their conversation from a few weeks ago when he was sitting in Sanji’s apartment. Back then, he had no idea Sanji had personal connections to the Baratie until he mentioned his old man owned the place and offered to reserve him a table. Unregrettably, when the time came, he found it hard to concentrate on their conversation let alone appreciate Sanji's company. He was so spaced out that he could have been fooled Sanji was just a gorgeous, walking pipe dream. It wasn’t the first time he dreamt about him anyway. 

_“Don’t be selfish, Zoro. How do you think I would have felt if you had also lost your life along with Detective Kuina's?”_

“Oh yeah? Well, you're right. I do have a problem - with you. I told you to behave and so far, you’ve only embarrassed me in front of the waiter. God, it sounds like I’m talking to a child.” Sanji had his arms crossed against his chest. “If you don’t want to be here, then tell me.” 

“Did I say I didn’t want to be here?” Zoro was beginning to get irritated. Not at Sanji, but himself. Here he was, thinking he could play it off like his past wasn’t a damn cesspool of suppressed anger, regret, and self-hatred that still festered in the back of his mind and affected him in the present. 

“Not verbally. Ever since we sat down, you’ve been acting like more of an ass than usual!” Sanji snapped at the same time one of the waiters came over with their entrees. She hesitantly announced, “steamed mussels with coconut and lemongrass…” 

“You know what? I need some air. Thank you, mademoiselle. Just leave it on the table.” 

Sanji got up from his seat and walked out of the restaurant. 

_“If you continue with this reckless behaviour, you will lose someone important to you again.”_

❀

Zoro stepped out into the cold air to find Sanji standing behind a railing out on the boardwalk, with a cigarette in his mouth. He took a deep breath before going over to him. He felt like a piece of shit that didn’t deserve to be forgiven after what happened, however, Sanji deserved to know the truth. 

“Sorry for being an ass,” Zoro apologised. 

Sanji didn’t do anything to acknowledge him. 

“I’m not making any excuses but I should’ve told you that something happened three years ago at the Baratie that still fucks with me.” 

Sanji still had his back to Zoro, but he could tell he was listening. 

“My boss took us there for dinner after I got out of the hospital from a stunt I pulled. I lost… someone important to me. Not asking you to forgive me, just wanted you to know.” 

Sanji finally turned around to face him. “Why didn’t you just tell me that earlier?” 

“I thought I’d be fine if you were with me but guess I was wrong. And this place is your old man's right? I didn’t want to say something outta line.” Zoro was surprised Sanji even had anything to say to him. 

“Zoro, I'm sorry for what happened to you but it's not my responsibility to make sure you're comfortable if you don't tell me anything. Yeah, the Baratie means a lot to me and my old man owns it, but I’m not that sensitive, idiot.” 

“...Do you want to go back? Didn’t even touch the food.” Zoro scratched the back of his neck. 

“Nah… I’ll just ask the waiters to give the food to someone else.” 

Zoro expected them to say their goodbyes and part ways except Sanji didn’t share the same thought. 

“There’s a place about a mile away that does fried chicken and beer. Want to go?” Sanji proposed, putting out his cigarette. Zoro felt his heart skip a beat and his appetite return at the prospect of greasy food paired with the booze he could wash it all down with. He couldn’t believe Sanji wasn’t ready to end their night together after the behaviour he exhibited earlier. But who was he to turn down his offer? 

“Not gonna say no to that,” Zoro grinned. 

❀

“I can’t believe I have to walk a mile to get fried chicken just because you didn’t tell me you didn’t want to go to the Baratie in the first place.” Sanji groaned as they strolled down the dimly lit street. 

“You doing okay? Your feet – “ 

“- are fine,” Sanji finished Zoro’s sentence. His body language was a lot more honest as Zoro noticed his pace becoming slower and more staggered. His legs and ass looked amazing though, so he couldn’t really complain. He did feel bad they had to change their plans for his sake but he _did_ suggest they take their cars. Yet, for some reason, Sanji was intent on walking. 

“Tsk. You’re being a pain.” Zoro couldn’t witness Sanji struggling any longer. 

“ _I’m_ being a pain?!” Sanji snapped. 

“Hold on to me.” Zoro offered his arm to him. He was met with some resistance, but Sanji eventually gave in and grabbed onto him. 

“You seem really close with your boss,” Sanji began after a moment of shared silence. 

“Dunno about that. I’ve known him since I was a kid so that's probably why,” Zoro explained. 

“You’ve known your boss since you were a kid? Is he a family friend or something?” 

Zoro exhaled, “Nah. He’s the closest thing I have to family. He took me in when my parents died when he was just a detective investigating the whole thing. Didn’t get any of it back then, but it must’ve stuck with me since I sorta looked up to him.” 

Sanji didn’t offer an immediate response however, Zoro felt the grip on his arm get tighter. 

“I’m… so sorry, Zoro. I didn’t know.” 

“Don’t apologise. It happened a long time ago and those bastards who killed my parents are rotting in jail now.” 

“So… is your boss also like your adoptive father?” Sanji asked. 

Zoro couldn’t remember what having a father was like so he didn’t have anything to base his judgement on. From what he gathered; their relationship was probably a messed-up version of it. Growing up with Mihawk was more like growing up with a mentor that gave him a roof over his head, food to eat, and a bed to sleep in. He never played a game of baseball with him or whatever it was kids did with their dads. 

“Dunno. Never thought about it that way,” Zoro replied. 

They arrived at the fried chicken and beer place quicker than Zoro anticipated. It must have been the conversation they shared that made the time pass by so effortlessly. Sanji let go of him and told Zoro to wait outside while he checked if there were any tables left only to return moments later with a disappointed look. 

“He said they’re fully booked tonight, but we can get takeaway and find somewhere else to sit,” Sanji informed. 

“I’m fine with that. I’ll pay for it.” Zoro offered, feeling his stomach growl. 

After the two of them had their hands full with a bucket of fried chicken and two bottles of beer each, they located a spot just outside of the restaurant by the water. There weren’t any benches, so they had to sit on the floor (Zoro didn’t mind but Sanji was pretty pissed off about his decision to wear light coloured pants). 

“I’m not the biggest fan of food that clogs up your arteries, but I’m so fucking hungry I couldn’t care less right now.” Sanji took a bite out of the piece of meat, carefully making sure the oil didn’t drip onto his clothes. Zoro didn’t need to ask how much his outfit cost to know that it was expensive. 

“Rather have something like this than a fancy clam.” Zoro tore into the fried chicken before chugging down his beer. It was a damn good combination. 

“I would’ve thought a moss head like you would enjoy something like a fancy clam,” Sanji remarked. “When was the last time you coloured your hair? Your roots are showing.” 

“Don't remember. Some annoying girl who knows my boss does it for me.” 

“If you want, I can bleach it for you the next time you’re over. You don’t want to leave it too long or you’ll get a band.” Sanji’s words sounded exactly like the pink-haired woman’s. 

“Dunno what you’re talking about but sure.” There was a part of Zoro that was relieved to know Sanji didn’t seem to mind his semi-frequent unannounced ‘visits’. 

“I forgot to ask you before, but what do you think about my friends? I’m sorry if Luffy keeps blowing up your phone. He’s like that.” Sanji took a sip of his beer and Zoro watched as he grimaced a little from the taste. He would’ve teased him about it, but it was sort of adorable. 

“They’re fine. He keeps sending all those moving pictures. What are they called? G.I.Fs?” 

“G.I.Fs?” Sanji giggled, “you mean GIFs?” 

“More like G.A.Fs ‘cos I don’t give a fuck.” Zoro dismissed, earning an enthusiastic laugh from Sanji. 

“I can’t believe you actually cracked a joke.” He wiped away a tear. It was then that Zoro realised he liked it when Sanji laughed. That, along with his smile which was so warm it thawed his cold exterior in a matter of seconds. 

“Want to see something?” Sanji wiped his hands prior to pulling out his phone and sliding closer to Zoro in order to show him a photo. It was an old geezer wearing a chef hat, a scowl on his face, and dirty blonde hair with a braided moustache that matched. 

“I know he’s just an old geezer to you, but he’s my old man. I wanted to introduce you to him at the restaurant.” 

Zoro felt his guilt return. He was such a fucking idiot. “Sorry,” he said. 

“Don’t worry about it. There’ll be another time. I braided his moustache as a kid and he’s just always kept it like that.” Sanji smiled the same warm smile that caused Zoro’s heartbeat to speed up. 

“You got more photos?” Zoro swiped right on Sanji’s phone to find a photo of a man with short, dark hair and a red snake imprinted on a grey jacket with his arm around Sanji’s waist. He only looked at it for two seconds before Sanji yanked his phone away. 

“Don’t just go touching my phone with your greasy fingers!” Sanji blushed. 

“Is he your boyfriend or something?” Zoro almost didn’t want to know the answer. 

“My _ex_ -boyfriend. We dated for a month before I ended it years ago.” Sanji sighed. “Anyway, can we not talk about exes? Show me this boss of yours.” 

“Don’t have a photo of him. Just imagine a vampire from a punk-rock band,” Zoro stated. 

“Now you’ve got me even more curious. He kind of sounds like Law.” Sanji chuckled. 

"You're not far off. They're the only people who sign off with their names whenever they text." Zoro added, earning another laugh from Sanji. 

They finished their bucket of fried chicken and drinks while exchanging stories and facts about each other. Zoro didn’t share that much but he learned a lot about Sanji. He found out he used to take ballet lessons as a kid until he quit because he found his passions were elsewhere. He also discovered the origin story of how Sanji met his group of friends which to no surprise, involved Luffy being at the centre of it. Zoro could tell there was more to the story, but Sanji didn’t seem like he wanted to share and it wasn’t his business to pry. 

“You haven’t said anything about yourself. Tell me a fact, already. And make it interesting.” There was a fervent blush across Sanji’s face as he held onto his cigarette and leaned against Zoro’s shoulder. Zoro made a mental note that Sanji and alcohol was a dangerous mix for his heart. 

“Alright. Give me your hand with the palm facing up,” Zoro instructed. 

Sanji did as he was told without questioning his motives. His hands were a lot more slender and softer than his. “You’re shitting me! You can read palms?” Sanji gasped. 

“Yeah. And this here-” Zoro traced his finger across one of the long lines running down Sanji’s palm. “That means you're a dumbass.” 

Sanji immediately retracted his hand, “bastard!” 

Zoro smirked at his reaction. “Didn’t even get to the other lines.” 

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” Sanji’s face was incredibly close as he scolded him. He could smell the scent of beer and nicotine mixed with his cologne and the faintest trace of coconut. It must have been whatever shampoo he used. Shit, he wanted to kiss him. 

Deciding to just go with what every muscle in his body was screaming at him to do, Zoro leaned in until his nose grazed the tip of Sanji’s. His lips were already glossy from being coated in the oil from their food which made it all the more tempting. 

Sanji pushed away from him, “We shouldn’t...I’ve been smoking –“ 

“Don’t care.” Zoro held onto Sanji’s chin before crushing their mouths together. He was worried Sanji was going to pull away again until he felt his arms move around his neck as he reciprocated the kiss with the same amount of longing that Zoro had. Sanji tasted like beer on a summer’s day and fuck, it quenched him. 

Sanji broke apart from him too soon, breathing heavily, “do you… want to get ice-cream?” 

“Don’t really like ice-cream.” Zoro rasped, keeping his forehead pressed against Sanji’s. He glanced down to notice Sanji’s nipples were hard and poking out of his transparent shirt. God, he loved how honest his body was. 

“Me neither.” Sanji delved in for another kiss and Zoro returned it. The blonde had a fistful of his hair as they continued their heated exchange of tongues; nibbling and sucking until their lips were swollen and bruised. 

After a couple of hours, they walked back to their cars once the alcohol had left their systems. Sanji had taken off his shoes but kept his arm linked with Zoro’s, while he talked about how he started looking at doing renovations for Delphinium and even slipped in an offer for Zoro to join him one day to browse for materials and furniture. Zoro only hoped he didn’t bring up his progress on the case, as he didn’t want the night to end on a shitty note. Luckily, they arrived at Sanji’s car before he could ask about it. 

“Well, this is my car,” Sanji said, leaning his back against one of the doors while he faced Zoro. Zoro wanted to be satisfied with the night, but he couldn't ignore the urge to take Sanji home with him and have his legs upon his shoulders. 

“Zoro, there’s a reason why I didn’t accept your offer for a lift.” Sanji’s breath was hitched. “I knew that I’d end up going home with you if I did and I – I like whatever this is. Whatever we’re figuring out. And I don’t want to rush into things.” 

The only thing Zoro got out of that was that Sanji was holding back as well. 

“Yeah. I think so too.” 

Sanji looked relieved at Zoro’s response and Zoro thought he was going in for another kiss but instead, he wrapped his arms around him in an embrace. 

“Thank you, for tonight. I had a really good time.” 

Zoro pulled his waist closer to his body.

Sanji was going to be worth the wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My knowledge of cops comes from cop shows so I did warn you there'd be some bad cop writing LOL I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I've been dying to write their proper date for so long ♥
> 
> We will take a small break from Zoro and Sanji in the next chapter 'Sunflower shirt' . I'm sure you can guess who the main couple will be... Once again, ty for the comments and kudos! 😳


	8. Sunflower shirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Law and Luffy take a well-deserved vacation on Thousand Sunny Cruises. 
> 
> AKA: The Lawlu bonus chapter that's finally here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you enjoy some Lawlu shenanigans. If you want, you can also skip this chapter as it doesn't pertain to the storyline and it's more of an extra chapter.

###  Chapter 8: Sunflower 

> #####  **Sunflower:** _symbolize adoration, loyalty and longevity. Much of the meaning of sunflowers stems from its namesake, the sun itself._

“Woah! We can see the ocean!” 

Luffy bounded towards the window in their cabin, pressing his hands against the glass as he watched the moving waves underneath the clear, blue sky. 

“You will have three days to stare at the ocean, so don’t bother wasting all of your time doing it in here.” Law picked up his luggage and stored it in one of the cabinets by the entryway. “Would you like me to put your bag up here too?” 

A response came a minute later after Luffy finally managed to pry himself away from the window. Law had to admit it was sort of adorable. “It’s okay, I can do it.” The smaller man flung his sports bag over his shoulder and walked over to where Law stood. 

“Let me help, I’m taller than you.” 

Law reached over to grab the handle of his partner’s bag, nearly dropping it as the weight was not what he expected it to be, especially given how easily his partner carried it the whole time. Two years of dating and Luffy’s strength remained both terrifying and admirable. 

“What the hell did you pack, Luffy?” 

“Huh? Just the usual stuff. Clothes, underwear, toothbrush, volleyball, Jenga, wooden pirate ship, slime – “ 

“Some of those aren’t normal things to pack on a three-day cruise.” Law sighed, lifting the heavy contents to the compartment above before wondering if it was a good idea to leave a hazardous item in such a high place on a ship. An actual _moving_ ship. He decided it’d be more responsible to leave it in the lower compartment where it was easier to access. 

“We have thirty minutes before we sail off. I know you want to head to the deck to check out the sailing-away party, but just remember to be back before noon.” Law instructed. 

“Aw, you’re not coming with me?” Luffy grabbed onto Law’s sleeve and looked up at him. 

Law cursed himself for being so weak to Luffy and his Pomeranian-like eyes. 

“Fine. But I’m not staying for the whole hour,” he compromised. He figured he may as well use that time to finish reading one of his science-fiction graphic novels. 

“Well then, let’s go! It’s too cramped in here anyway. I want to go out and party!” Luffy moved his grip down to Law’s wrist, yanking him out of their room. Law only barely managed to close the door behind him before the couple was making their way down the corridor. 

Once they made it out onto the deck, Law found a comfortable spot on one of the sunloungers a few metres away from the cluster of swimsuit-clad bodies that were swaying their hips to the beat of the loud music. 

Luffy disappeared from his side within seconds, tossing him his straw hat and sunflower-patterned shirt before jumping into the pool. Law knew the younger man couldn’t swim that well, so he abandoned his original plan to absorb himself in his novel and keep an eye on Luffy instead - just in case he drowned. 

He grew bored after a few minutes and opted for browsing the selection of drinks on the menu that was conveniently left on the table beside him. Was it too early in the day to have something alcoholic? He could always order another coffee since the one he had during breakfast was definitely no longer in his system. 

“Traffy, I got us some drinks!” 

Well, that answered that question. 

Law looked up from the menu to stare straight into Luffy’s overly bright, smiling face. When the hell did he get out of the pool? 

Law raised his sunglasses above his head to take a proper look at the colourful concoction that was offered to him. 

“Thanks. What is this?” Law questioned, taking the beverage. 

“Dunno. I forgot the name. But I asked the guy dressed like Franky to make something really bitter and strong for you.” 

Instead of sitting on one of the many sunloungers, his lover decided to plant his ass down on the edge of Law’s seat. He was still drenched from his time in the pool which only proved to be a difficult thing for Law, as he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the beads of water that were dripping down his toned back. 

His lingering gaze was broken when Luffy decided to shake off the excess water like a wet dog. 

“Luffy! There’s a towel!” 

Luffy only laughed at Law before lying down next to him. There was very little room as the chair was not designed to fit two people, not that his partner cared. Law wondered why he even thought for a second that he wasn’t going to get soaked. 

“You haven’t had a sip of your drink yet. I wanna know if you like it.” Luffy grinned. 

Law groaned as he gripped onto the edge of the seat to prevent himself from falling off. He brought the drink to his lips and took a sip before grimacing at the sickening sweet flavour followed by the strong aftertaste of tequila. 

“Is it good?!” Luffy asked. 

“It’s… really sweet.” 

“Sweet? Oh, my bad. I think this one is yours.” 

Luffy snatched Law’s drink away from him and swapped it with the one he was previously holding. He should’ve known Luffy would pull a stunt like that. Although, he doubted he did it willingly. 

“This is better,” Law confirmed once he took a sip of his own drink. It was stronger than what he was used to, but the flavours were a lot more suited to his liking. It was almost like having a few shots of Espresso with rum. 

“Come join me in the pool after this!” Luffy insisted, finishing off his drink in record speed before taking out the lemon and sucking on it. 

“I’m not particularly fond of swimming. Besides, should you really be in a position to say that? You can’t even swim.” 

“It’s fine, it’s not that deep. You just don’t want to get wet before that musical show.” 

Law blushed, turning his head to the side so that Luffy couldn’t see his expression. 

He was right. 

Ever since Corazon brought him to his first musical theatre performance as a child, he was sort of hooked. It was one of the earliest memories he had with his adoptive father and the dancing and singing strangely brought him a sense of joy he hadn’t felt in a long time. He was damn elated when he examined the itinerary to find that the musical number was scheduled in the afternoon on the first day of the cruise. 

Other than Corazon, his childhood friends – Penguin and Shachi, as well as Luffy, knew about his guilty pleasure and he was going to keep it that way until he was buried deep underground. 

“That’s not the reason,” Law muttered. “Besides, we’re not breaking any laws by drinking before noon, are we?” 

“Why would I want to break you?” 

“That joke is getting old.” Law sighed, receiving a chuckle from Luffy. 

“You should loosen up, Traffy. People go on cruises to have fun.” 

Law knew he was being a stickler, but it was easier said than done. There were two reasons that lead to him going on a cruise ship in the first place - one; he was overworking himself at the hospital that his boss practically offered to pay him double just to take some time off and two; he knew how much Luffy loved the sea, and their conflicting shift-work meant they hadn’t had a lot of time to themselves for a while. 

But he wasn’t prepared for the drunken adults, constant parties, and loud music that came along with the package. He didn’t even own a brightly-coloured printed shirt until yesterday and it wasn’t even technically his. Penguin just let him borrow it, along with several others that all had hideous patterns and slogans such as _‘I found my Hunk so I’m getting drunk’_. He didn’t want to know why his friend had so many of them in the first place. 

“I know, I’ll try. For you,” Law promised. 

“I love you.” Luffy smiled, raising his neck to give Law a soft kiss. Law placed his drink down on the table so he could use his free hand to caress Luffy’s cheek as he pressed their mouths together again. 

About an hour later, the couple headed towards the theatre on the 7th floor, a few minutes before the musical was scheduled to perform. Law was persistent on arriving earlier to get the ideal seat in the centre row towards the middle. A waiter came by to take their drink orders which consisted of a Margarita for Luffy and a Long Black coffee for Law. 

“It’s so cute how much you like these shows,” Luffy commented. 

“It’s not that I particularly like them. I just happen to appreciate the beauty and art of the theatrical performance that integrates all elements of music, acting, spoken dialogue and dance to communicate a theme or a message that is both entertaining and moving.” Law defended. 

“So basically, you like them.” Luffy grinned, watching Law turn a furious shade of red. 

“…Yes.” Law muttered. 

After the show was over, Law and Luffy agreed it was time for lunch and headed upstairs towards the buffet. Law was still feeling the high he received from watching the musical - which was absolutely brilliant in execution, that he only wished Corazon was there with him. He remembered Luffy placing his hand on top of his when the thought appeared during the performance. It was almost like his lover could read his mind. 

“This is the second-best thing about the cruise.” Luffy licked his lips as he stacked his plate with everything in his view. Law followed behind him, using the tongs to place a grilled fish on his much emptier plate. “Second-best?” He asked. He could’ve sworn it would have been the first given Luffy’s bottomless stomach. 

“The third is the parties, the second is the buffet and the first is being on the ocean with you,” Luffy stated, scooping up the beef stew and smacking it down next to his mashed potatoes. Law nearly dropped everything he was holding out of embarrassment. Luffy was too honest for his own good. 

With their plates now full of food, they went outside onto the deck to one of the tables where they could get the best view of the ocean. One of the waiters approached them when they were sat down with a large bottle of champagne that was decorated with a white ribbon. 

“Congratulations to the happy couple!” He popped the cork off and Law watched as the fizzy liquid burst out of its confinement. 

“Thanks, man!” Luffy cheered. 

“Luffy, what’s going on?” Law asked. 

“Dunno,” Luffy responded. 

“Excuse me, we didn’t order any champagne.” Law explained to the waiter. 

“You didn’t? Aren’t you two getting married?” The waiter blinked in confusion. 

“We are?” 

“We aren’t!” 

Law and Luffy exclaimed at the same time. 

“You’re what?” The waiter was even more bewildered. 

“We’re not getting married! I think you have us confused with another couple.” Law sighed. 

“Oh, you aren’t Cavendish and Bartolomeo?” The waiter pulled out a card and Law guessed he must have realised his mistake as it was evident on his face. 

“My apologies! I am at the wrong table. Please keep the champagne as compensation.” The waiter quickly left their table, yelling something at one of the other staff members about writing down the wrong table number. 

“Well, that was eventful.” Law commented, starting to pick at his fish. Luffy didn’t seem as eager about eating his food as he was a few minutes ago. He seemed lost in thought - which was a rare sight on its own. 

“Luffy? You’re not touching your food.” Law hoped he wasn’t feeling ill. There weren’t many excuses for Luffy not being able to eat. In fact, sometimes illness never stopped him, as he once inhaled an entire roast chicken after Law advised he was only allowed to eat light after he got food poisoning. Law had to change his definition of light after that. 

“Do you… want to marry me?” Luffy asked. 

Law did not expect that to come out of his mouth. 

“Now?” Law wasn’t sure if Luffy just proposed to him or if it was just a question that was on his mind. It was bound to come up eventually after two years of dating. Law hadn’t thought about it much since they were practically married already. After all, they lived together and took care of each other. The only thing that was missing was the paperwork that made it ‘Government official’ and possibly a ceremony. The idea didn’t really particularly appeal to him but he wasn’t against it either. 

“Not now but in the future,” Luffy said. 

“It might not be a bad idea. I planned on spending the rest of my life with you anyway.” Law took a sip of his water. The answer seemed to bring Luffy back to his usual self. 

“Me too!” He stuck his fork into a piece of chicken and swallowed it whole. Law only smiled at him. He didn’t know what the future looked like and he disliked thinking about it, but if it was with Luffy, he knew it couldn’t be that bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zoro and Sanji will be back in the next chapter 'Daisy, daisy'. It's a big one.


	9. Daisy, daisy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group heads to Franky’s to celebrate Nami and Vivi’s good news, Ace is a pain and things get emotional.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the love on this fic! It means a lot and I don’t want it to end <3 From now on, POV’s will switch between Zoro and Sanji as we head towards the final big chapters. So prepare yourselves....

###  Chapter 9: Daisy, daisy

> #####  **Daisy:** _symbolise innocence, purity and new beginnings._

Once Sanji pulled into the parking lot, he took the keys out of the ignition and pushed his seat back before fumbling with his belt so he could get the damn thing off his pants in order to relieve the heat that started to rise in his groin. He quickly removed his blazer and snuck a hand up his shirt to play with one of his nipples, palming himself through his underwear at the same time. 

“Zoro…” He muttered, remembering the feel of his strong arms around his body and the way he explored his mouth using his tongue with such expertise that made him go absolutely crazy thinking about what else it could do. 

Sanji opened the door to his apartment around 11 pm after he embarrassingly had to take care of himself in his car. Nami was kind enough to leave one of the lights on in the kitchen and he was careful not to make too much noise as to not disturb her sleep. He turned off the light once he quietly made his way into his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. He was far too tired to take a shower so he decided he would take one early tomorrow morning and just remove all of his clothes to get rid of the smell of fried chicken and beer. 

Once he was in his underwear, he slipped under his covers and unlocked his phone to find a new text message. 

**Zoro** : forgot to say i do have a favourite food. Its onigiri. 

Sanji smiled to himself before he sent his reply. 

**Sanji** : I’ll keep that in mind. 

The next morning, Sanji woke up at seven to take a shower and get ready for his first appointment of the day. He had enough time to make breakfast before his client arrived, so he settled with brewing some coffee and frying up some eggs to accompany a few slices of sourdough. 

“Morning, Sanji.” Nami greeted. 

“Good morning, Nami. Coffee and eggs?” Sanji grabbed a second mug from the cupboard. 

“Thanks, that sounds amazing.” She sat down on the bar stool with her hair up in a ponytail, opening up her digital notebook that served as their new way of managing appointments in the interim. She must have been rather busy as Sanji watched her type away on her keyboard in silence. 

“Busy morning?” Sanji placed her coffee and breakfast down in front of her. 

“Yeah. Just have to record all of last week’s expenses and calculate how much we can put away for renovations and all that when we reopen. But I’m more interested in that _busy night_ you had.” She glanced up from her device to shoot him a smug grin. 

“There’s nothing to tell.” Sanji traced the rim around his mug with his finger. 

“That’s all you’re going to say about the first official date you’ve had in years?” Nami looked unimpressed. “Don’t be a tease! Tell me or you will have to suffer with Ace asking all the questions and I’d like to think I’m the better choice.” 

Sanji sighed. If Ace ever found out about his date then he would never let it go. 

“We just went to the Baratie but changed our plans and got fried chicken and beer. Then we just sat outside and talked.” 

“You just sat outside and talked,” Nami repeated, unconvinced. 

“…we might have also made-out.” Sanji sipped his drink to hide half his face. 

“You what?! He didn’t come home with you, did he?” Nami tried to peek over his shoulder into his bedroom to see if she could spot the topic of discussion. 

“No! We – um, we just went our separate ways. Shit, Nami… I think I’m falling for him.” Sanji admitted. He only met the guy a few weeks ago but he was already taking up all the room in his head. Even speaking about Zoro made Sanji’s heart race. 

“Aw, Sanji. I just want you to know that I fully support you. I know it must be hard opening your heart up again but I think Zoro is a good guy. And I don’t say that about a lot of guys that I barely know.” Nami smiled at him. 

“Thank you, Nami. It’s… kind of nice, but I’m also a little nervous. Oh, that reminds me, you mentioned you had something to tell me a while ago. What was it?” 

“Oh, that. I don’t want to make this about me,” Nami dismissed. “Was he a good kisser?” 

“I’m not answering that until you tell me.” Sanji had the upper hand now. He knew Nami wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to find out more about that particular detail. 

“Okay, fine. I was going to tell you anyway, but Vivi proposed to me!” Nami exclaimed. 

“Are you kidding me?! Nami! That’s amazing! I’m so happy for the two of you. When did this happen?” 

“Right before we started taking clients again. At dinner, she just kind of popped the question and we’ve… sort of been looking at this place on Alabasta drive.” Nami took a deep breath and Sanji could see the excitement on her face fade away. 

“Nami, that’s wonderful! So, you two will be moving in together?” 

Suddenly, a tear rolled down Nami’s cheek. “Sorry, I wanted to get through this without crying but I’m just going to miss living with you so much.” Her voice trembled and Sanji handed her the tissue box. He felt his own chest tighten at the thought of living alone in his apartment, but he couldn’t focus on that selfish thought. Nami was finally taking steps forward in her relationship and he was elated for her. 

“Don’t worry about me. We're still going to see each other, right? You had to move out eventually.” Sanji walked around the table to give her a hug. 

“I know, but I can’t help it. I just thought I didn’t want to leave you here on your own so I kept postponing it and I really like us being roommates.” She sniffled, keeping her arms around him. “I’m keeping Belle here by the way since our new place won’t allow pets.” 

“Then she will be more than enough company,” Sanji reassured. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Nami that he was going to miss her after she admitted he was the reason she was holding herself back. The only thing he could do was comfort her. 

After an emotional morning, Sanji was standing behind his first client, snipping away at his wavy dark locks while absently listening to the story he was going on about. He refused to have male clients unless they were his friends or by invitation only. Ace happened to be the former. 

“…but then Marco had to pull my head out with peanut-butter because we ran out of oil and there were feathers everywhere.” 

Okay, maybe Sanji should have paid more attention to the story because he had no idea what Ace was talking about. 

“Did you want the front shorter?” Sanji asked, pulling down on his bangs to show Ace the current length. 

“Yeah, a bit. Hey, are you listening? You seem distracted.” Ace responded. 

“I’m sorry I’m focused on cutting your hair so you don’t look like shit.” Sanji grabbed onto the man’s chin in an effort to keep him still. 

“Are you thinking about your date last night?” Ace smirked. How the hell did he find out about that? Nami surely hadn’t gone behind his back. 

“How did you know about that?” Sanji asked. 

“Really? I didn’t think that would work. That means you really did go on a date last night!” Sanji cursed himself for falling into that trap. The situation was made worse when his phone vibrated at that exact moment and he glanced over to notice it was indeed a message from Zoro. 

“Is that him? Is he sending a dick pic?” Ace spun his head around to peek at his phone and Sanji forced him to turn back around. 

“Will you stay still?!” Sanji snapped. 

“Did you fuck yet? How big is he?” Ace bombarded him with questions. 

“How about this? If you keep asking questions like that, I won’t hesitate to shave off all of your hair. Comprendre?” 

Ace nodded slowly. Sanji continued with his work, trying not to distract himself with the contents of the message. There was no way Ace was right. 

“What do you think about the length at the back?” Sanji held up a mirror to show Ace the back of his head. 

“Yeah, looks good. Hey, now that you’re done, you going to tell me about this guy?” Ace got out of his seat and brushed the hair from his shoulders. “I tell you everything about me. We’re supposed to be friends!” 

“I guess.” Sanji sighed. He sat down on the couch and Ace joined him. He ended up telling him a summary of everything that had happened in the past few weeks, with Ace being his usual self and butting in with an annoying question every now and then. 

“Is he cute? Actually, never mind. I’m seeing him tonight anyway.” Ace grinned. 

“What do you mean by that?” Sanji was a little confused. 

“Check the group chat. We’re all going to Franky’s to celebrate Nami and Vivi’s engagement. He’s coming, right?” 

Shit. Sanji wondered if that was the message he missed from earlier. He wasn’t prepared for whatever their relationship was to become public in his circle of friends so soon. At the very least, he was glad he got Ace’s reaction out of the way and it might have been easier if he was slightly intoxicated. 

The rest of the day went by rather quickly after Ace left. Sanji was cleaning up when Nami approached him wearing a teal Midi-dress with golden jewellery dripping over her neck and arms to match her strappy gold heels. Her hair was also braided and wrapped around a bun above her head. 

“Nami… you look beautiful.” Sanji complimented. 

“Thanks, Sanji. It’s going to be a big night so I thought, why not? I’ve been dying to wear this dress.” She turned around to check out the back in the mirror. “When are you getting changed? You should wear that really cute pink blazer.” 

Sanji gulped, “I wore that yesterday… and now it’s in the wash.” 

“You wore the most expensive thing you own on your first date? You are falling so hard for him.” Nami giggled. “Let me pick out something else for you then. I think I have something in mind.” 

❀

“Nami, are you sure this isn’t too much?” Sanji stared at himself in the mirror. Nami had picked out a black short-sleeved turtleneck and black leather pants that cut off at his ankles to showcase the royal blue pumps that were supposedly the statement piece of the outfit. Nami also applied some mascara and red lipstick to complete the look. 

“One more thing.” Nami pulled out a pair of black lace gloves and slid them onto Sanji’s hands. “That’s to match the underwear, so he’ll be lucky if he gets to see it.” She gave his ass a tap. “If Zoro doesn’t go crazy for this outfit then he’s definitely not worth it.” 

“What happened to thinking he was a good guy?” Sanji sighed. He had to admit he looked sexy though. “Shit, I forgot to text him back earlier.” 

Nami handed him his phone, “you’re seriously so cute when you’re all giddy like this over someone.” 

Sanji just blushed, taking his phone and opening up the message he received earlier that day. 

**Zoro** : see u tonight. Don’t get lost. 

**Sanji** : Idiot! That’s my line! 

As per usual, Nami and Sanji got to Franky’s half an hour after the agreed-upon time. Once they arrived at the booth upstairs, everyone started cheering congratulatory messages aimed at Nami. Vivi stood up next to her and Sanji went to sit next to Zoro while Franky came over to pop open a bottle of champagne. 

“You look good.” Sanji commented on Zoro’s attire. He was wearing a button-up that looked similar to the navy one he had on the night before, but this time, it was made of black velvet and didn’t hug his chest as much. His hair was slicked back and he completed the look with dark jeans and a pair of boots. 

“You too.” Zoro looked him up and down. 

“First rounds on me!” Franky announced, rolling out a tray lined with a variety of drinks. “I made everyone’s favourites, so just pass ‘em round!” 

“You’re the best, Franky! Oi, Luffy! That one’s mine. You always get the Strawberry Daiquiri.” Usopp exclaimed. 

“Oh, you’re the new one. What’s your drink?” Franky asked Zoro. 

“I’ll just have a beer,” Zoro replied. 

“You got it!” Franky proceeded down the stairs to prepare Zoro’s drink. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met in person before. My name is Robin.” Robin stuck out her hand as she introduced herself to Zoro. 

“Zoro.” Zoro shook it from across the table. 

“I heard you’re really close with Sanji.” She smiled, causing Sanji to choke on his Rosé. Zoro seemed to find the whole thing amusing as he smirked, “yeah. You could say that.” 

“Ace just texted and said he’s going to be late. Marco had to take care of something at the hospital.” Luffy informed the others before finishing his drink in a few gulps. 

“You need to slow down or else you will get alcohol poisoning and be the thing _I_ have to take care of at the hospital.” Law groaned, sipping on his own beverage. 

“Oh yeah, Kaya is working late too. She told me she was going to carpool with them.” Usopp added. 

Franky appeared again with Zoro’s drink in his hand, placing it down on the coaster in front of him. “Welcome to the family, Zoro!” He struck his usual pose which consisted of raising his arms up in the air with his wrists touching. 

Sanji was on his second glass of Rosé when he leaned against Zoro’s shoulder. Everybody was mostly too preoccupied in their own conversations and spread out across the bar to take much notice of the two of them. Robin and Franky were also nowhere to be seen. 

“Thanks for coming out tonight,” Sanji began. “I really hope you come to see everyone as your friends too.” 

Zoro placed his hand on Sanji’s thigh. “There’s not a lot of people I like to be around but everyone here is alright.” He stated. 

“Sanji! You’re coming dancing with us, right?” Nami approached them, holding onto Vivi’s hand. “Luffy and Usopp are coming too. Zoro, you should join us!” 

“Nah, I’d rather stay here.” Zoro responded. 

“Could I persuade you?” Sanji ran his finger down Zoro’s chest, only to have Zoro grab onto his wrist to prevent him from touching him any further. 

“It’s tempting, but I think I’ll just watch you from here.” 

“Suit yourself, Moss head. Just try not to get too excited.” Sanji teased, finishing the rest of his drink before purposefully getting up from his seat to slide past Zoro slowly, feeling the green-haired man’s knees graze the backs of his legs. 

“I don’t think I’ve congratulated you in person, Vivi. I’m really happy for the both of you.” Sanji held onto Vivi’s hand as she twirled underneath his arm while they danced to the Blues tune that was playing. “Thank you, Sanji! I’m really excited! I was so nervous before I asked her so I’m glad it all worked out.” Vivi placed her hand on his shoulder. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to dance with your fiancée?” He asked. 

“I’m saving that for the wedding. Besides, she’s having fun with Usopp and Luffy.” Vivi giggled, moving her hips to the rhythm as Sanji followed. Moments later, he felt someone smack his ass and he quickly turned around and snapped, “What shithead - Ace?!” 

“Yo! Sorry, I’m late. Congrats Viv!” Ace raised his voice over the music which had changed from Blues to Hip Hop. Everyone on the dance floor started moving accordingly to the beat of the new song, matching the low bass with more enthusiastic, sensual movements. 

“Thanks! Where’s Marco?” Vivi looked around to notice the blonde in question was nowhere to be seen. 

“He couldn’t make it. Hospital business. Some guy got hit by a truck!” Ace started twerking as if he didn’t just share some morbid news with the two of them. He must have been desensitised to it. 

“Hey, Viv. Let me dance with our pretty blonde here. Go have fun with your fiancée!” 

“If you insist!” Vivi left Sanji’s side and disappeared amongst the crowd of people in search of the others. This unfortunately meant that Sanji had to entertain the firefighter himself. It hadn’t even been one minute since Vivi left and Ace already had an arm around Sanji’s waist as he leaned in close to his ear, “So, where’s this Zoro guy?” 

“Ace… do you have to be yourself right now? He might get the wrong idea.” Sanji tried to push away from his friend but Ace’s grip was firm as he cheekily moved it down to grab his ass. “I think I know which one he is now.” Ace grinned. 

“Ace!” Sanji exclaimed. 

“Green hair, black shirt, and he looks like he wants to kill me. That’s got to be him.” 

“Let go of me.” Sanji finally pried himself away from Ace. “I’m going back.” 

“Not before I buy you another drink.” Just when Sanji thought he was free, Ace grabbed onto his wrist and led him towards the bar. He looked back behind him in order to glance up at Zoro but the man wasn’t facing him. 

He finished off his third glass of Rosé in a matter of seconds so that he could hurry back to the booth. Regrettably, Ace had other ideas. 

“Wait, I got us some shots.” Ace placed two shot glasses in front of Sanji and he wanted to reject them, though his distaste for wasting food also happened to apply to drinks. He quickly downed the liquid from both glasses before biting into the lime wedge as he felt the scorching burn down his throat. 

“Woah, you didn’t even lick the salt off. You’re unhinged tonight.” Ace laughed. 

“I’m - going back. Don’t get me anymore drinks. Come with me if you want to meet him properly.” The walk back up the stairs to the booth was almost like being on a moving ship. He held onto the railing in an effort to steady himself, however, he couldn’t stop the room from spinning. 

This was a huge mistake. 

❀

Zoro gripped his glass so tightly that it nearly shattered in his hands once he witnessed the dark-haired asshole slither over to Sanji and grab a hold of his ass. He knew he was doing it intentionally as his gaze searched the crowd until they landed on Zoro’s and he fucking _smirked_ at him. Who the fuck did he think he was? 

“That’s Ace. Luffy’s brother and Sanji’s ex. He has a partner - despite his flirtatious advances, so you don’t have to worry about it.” Law explained, taking a sip from his glass of red wine. 

“Well, now I know about two of ‘em. Don’t tell me you’re an ex too.” Zoro turned his attention away from the two. He didn’t have time to play around with some smug bastard. 

“Please.” Law simply stated, which was strangely sufficient enough for him not to ask any more follow-up questions on the matter. 

“How long have you been dating Luffy?” Zoro asked, changing the subject. He wasn’t normally one to start conversations, but he had to find a way to pass the time and Law didn’t seem like that bad of a person to do that with. 

“Two years. We met when he was sent to the Emergency room after suffering severe burns to his chest. Ace was burned too along with their other brother, Sabo.” Law responded. 

Zoro wasn’t prepared for that response. He wondered if that was some of the information Sanji left out last night when he spoke about Luffy. He was reminded of the slight tremor in his voice as he spoke about something that occurred two years ago that he attempted to mask away with a smile and a wave of the hand. 

“What happened?” Zoro wasn’t sure if it was his place to ask, but Law didn’t seem bothered by it. 

“It happened after Luffy finished his recruit training and they were dispatched after an arsonist nearly burned down an apartment complex. Luffy decided on his own that he was going to save as many people in the building as he could and got trapped under a caved-in ceiling as a result. His brothers had to go in after him.” Law finished off the rest of his drink. 

Zoro just remained silent as he processed the information. He knew there was something about Luffy that reminded him of himself. The two of them weren’t afraid of death. They just stared right at it, grinned, and spat, _do your worst._ He respected that part about Luffy and he could understand why Sanji found it difficult to tell him. 

“Zoro, I’m sorry. I left you here on your own.” The blonde practically collapsed into the spot next to him, smelling strongly of tequila and someone else’s cologne. He assumed it was Ace’s. 

“I made that decision. And I wasn’t alone. Law’s still here.” Zoro sighed. 

“Save me from Ace.” Sanji threw his arms around Zoro’s neck just in time for Ace to appear behind him. 

“Hey, sorry to interrupt. I’m Ace by the way. You’re Zoro, right?” Ace took a seat on his right, far too close than he would have liked (he would have preferred if he just stayed away from him entirely). 

“Yeah.” Zoro briefly replied. He wasn’t drunk enough for this. 

“I need to pee.” The warmth on his left side disappeared once Sanji stood up. He wobbled a bit and Zoro instinctively grabbed onto him to prevent him from falling. “Do you want me to come with you?” Although, it sounded more like a statement than a question. 

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll be back, handsome.” Sanji ruffled Zoro’s hair and he watched with a concerned expression as the blonde stumbled his way out of the booth towards the bathrooms. 

“Don’t worry about Sanji. He’ll be fine. I’ve seen him look a lot worse.” Ace slapped a hand on his back and Zoro had half a mind to bend his elbow backward. 

“What are you playin’ at? Are you tryin’ to get him drunk and win him back? Or are you just fucking with me?” Zoro grunted. 

“Woah, cowboy. I was just teasing you. The stuff between Sanji and me is history. And don’t let him know, but we didn’t really do anything besides make-out and grind against each other, right Law?” Ace chuckled. 

“Leave me out of this.” Law requested. 

“Anyway, what I meant to say is, what you two have is pretty special. I’ve never seen him this way about anybody and I’ve known him for a long time.” Ace continued. Zoro knocked back the rest of the amber liquid in his glass. He wasn’t sure if he could trust what came out of Ace’s mouth no matter how sweet the words were. 

“I’m gonna go check on him.” Zoro decided, leaving promptly towards the bathrooms. He only hoped Sanji wasn’t passed out on the floor. 

He disliked it when his bad feeling was right. Swinging open the door to the bathroom, he discovered the blonde sitting on the tiled floor with his back against the wall and his shoulders slumped forward. “Oi, it’s cold on the ground.” Zoro went over to him and held out his arm. “Get up, I’m taking you home.” 

He received a groan from Sanji as he wrenched the blonde up after he grabbed a hold of him until he was pressed against his chest. “Zoro… Ace and I - it’s not what you think. I don’t feel the same way about him as I do about you.” Sanji confessed. 

“I know. Can we get out of this bathroom now?” Zoro tried to lead Sanji out the door but he didn’t want to cooperate. 

“Wait, Zoro. I need to tell you something. What do you think about me?” He slid his hand down the front of Zoro’s jeans and pressed a kiss on his Adam's apple, leaving a red stain. Zoro had to suppress the urge to touch him back. Sanji was very clearly drunk and he wasn’t going to take advantage of him in that state. 

“I think you’re wasted and I’m taking you home,” he repeated. Zoro put an arm around Sanji’s waist and helped him out of the bathroom and back into the bar. 

“Oh, shit. Is Sanj okay?” Usopp gave them a worried look. Zoro noticed everyone had come back from the dance floor and were now giving him and Sanji their full attention. 

“He had a lot to drink so I’ll get us a cab.” Zoro clarified. 

“Ace! I’m blaming you for this!” Nami scolded. “Zoro, can you make sure Sanji gets home safe? You know where we live. Here, take the keys. I’ll just stay with Vivi tonight.” Nami tossed the keys over to Zoro and he caught it with his free hand. 

“Thanks. Oh, and uh – congrats on the whole engagement thing.” Zoro said. 

“Thank you. Just keep him company for a bit, please?” Nami asked. 

“I will.” 

❀

They arrived at Sanji’s complex after the cab ride went by really smoothly mostly due to Sanji having fallen asleep on his shoulder and the cab driver not being the talkative kind, choosing to fill up the silent space with an old song about daisies instead. Zoro had to carry Sanji in the lift (nobody saw them so he didn’t have to make an excuse for anything) until he finally made it to his apartment - 1132. 

Zoro unlocked the door, turning on the light before closing the door behind him, all while holding onto Sanji who was still asleep in his arms. A few weeks had passed since the last time he was here sitting in Sanji’s kitchen as they listened to Luffy talk about… whatever it was. He was always surprised at how much bigger and nicely decorated the space was compared to his own. But then again, he never was one to think about putting a vase of flowers on his dining table to ‘add a pop of colour’. 

Zoro placed Sanji down onto his couch and went over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water for him. Where did he keep his glasses anyway? 

“Why is there a tree in my kitchen?” He heard Sanji’s voice from behind him. He was hoping to leave after he managed to give the drunk cook some water, but he wasn’t prepared for the said cook to wake up so soon. 

“The tree’s in your damn kitchen to find something to put water in, so you don’t wake up with a bloody hangover,” Zoro responded. 

“Second cupboard on your right,” Sanji directed. “On your right.” He repeated once Zoro went to the left. He grabbed one of the glasses and filled it up with the water from the tap, bringing it over to Sanji who was sitting upright on the couch looking extremely disheveled. 

“…Thanks.” Sanji drained the liquid, placing the empty glass on the table in front of him. Zoro watched as he kicked off his heels and brought his legs up onto the couch. He patted the empty spot next to him, “Don’t just stand there. Sit with me.” 

Zoro did as he was told. He wanted to stay with him, but he was feeling pretty lightheaded himself and he didn’t want to make any decisions he was going to regret. Sanji draped his long legs over his lap as he watched him with that single, blue eye that was prettier than the colour of the sky and the ocean. 

“I messaged Alvida a week ago. And she still hasn’t responded.” Out of all the things he could have said, Zoro would not have thought he’d bring that up. He swallowed. He hated not having any of the answers. 

“It’s okay, I know you probably can’t tell me anything but deep down, I kind of knew she wasn’t going to come back,” Sanji said softly. There was that familiar sadness on his face that Zoro recognised as something he was going to hide away again. 

“And you’re okay with that?” Zoro questioned. Sanji paused for a moment before he opened his mouth to speak. 

“Well, I’m just glad that the others are safe and we can just hire someone else, it’s not a big – “ 

“That wasn’t the question.” Zoro interjected. He was growing tired of Sanji constantly trying to conceal how he truly felt to protect others around him. He wasn’t going to let him get away with it this time. 

“I don’t know anythin’ about your relationship but she didn’t mean nothing to you. She could have betrayed you after you trusted her and you could lose whatever you guys had because of it, and you’re actin’ like she accidentally spilled shit on the ground. You deserve better than this! Quit thinking about others and think about your –“ 

“I know! I know…” Sanji retorted, his voice started to break and tears started streaming down his face. “I was so scared I lost Del when I got the call… I was terrified when I thought everyone could have been injured because I wasn’t there to protect them. And then I find out my friend who I’ve known – who I’ve trusted for three fucking years could be behind it all and I still feel like it’s my own fault for being stupid enough not to see it!” His breath was hitched as he sobbed into his arm. 

The scene that unfolded was too heartbreaking for Zoro to witness. It was like he finally broke through the walls that Sanji kept building in order to keep himself from letting others know how much he was hurting. But the walls were thin - as if made of glass. He had to appear strong and selfless and keeping his emotions to himself was something he had to fight. Zoro understood that part of him too well. 

“And now… Nami’s moving out. I’m so damn happy for her, but I couldn’t tell her that I was going to miss her because I was afraid I was going to make her feel bad if I started crying. She stayed because of me, Zoro! She only thought about how damn lonely I’d be.” Sanji continued, rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm as the words were painfully uttered through choked sobs. Zoro grabbed onto his shoulder and pulled him in close to his chest as he stroked his hair. 

“Will you be lonely?” Zoro asked. 

“…Yeah.” Sanji sniffled. 

“Then I’ll come by and annoy you more often,” Zoro promised. 

“Idiot. “Sanji laughed softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the emotional end uwu
> 
> The title comes from [Bicycle built for two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AEIvmZ1mRc) which also happens to be the song that was playing in the cab.
> 
> The next chapter 'Ambrosia Salad'  will come out in Jan next year! So happy holidays and see you in 2021.


	10. Ambrosia salad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji and the girls from Delphinium throw a tea party. Zoro decides to take matters into his own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 100 kudos! 😳 Thank you! I did warn you that this chapter will be a big one. A lot happens. Things spiral. Enjoy.

###  Chapter 10: Ambrosia

> #####  **Ambrosia:** _love is reciprocated._

Sanji felt the warm sand between his toes as he stepped out onto the shore in a loose floral shirt and his light blue swimming briefs. He found a spot under a parasol and laid down on his towel, closing his eyes as he breathed in the scent of the ocean and listened to the distant sounds of the seagulls and the crashing waves. 

“Hey, did you order a Piña Colada?” 

The voice startled him and he glanced up to notice Zoro in nothing but a pair of swimming trunks, holding the tantalizing beverage in his hand. Though, Sanji was far more interested in tasting the man himself as he allowed his gaze to trail down his glistening olive skin right to the prominent v in his hips. 

“Zoro? I didn’t know you worked here.” Sanji swallowed. God, he was thirsty. 

“I’m here because you’re here.” Zoro tilted Sanji’s chin up, “Drink.” Sanji parted his lips obediently, drinking the refreshing liquid while keeping his eyes locked on Zoro. The sweet flavour of the pineapple entangled with the coconut was enough to tease his palate, but he wanted – no, he needed more. 

He needed Zoro. 

“I want you to kiss me.” Sanji practically begged and Zoro immediately fulfilled his desire, leaning down to capture his mouth in a passionate, fevered kiss. “Zoro, you’re so hot…that you’re literally on fire, oh my god!” Sanji exclaimed, moving back as flames appeared on Zoro’s back. 

The smell of smoke woke Sanji up from his dream and he opened his eyes to find himself on his couch in broad daylight with the fire alarm going off. 

“What the – Zoro!” Sanji stood up, feeling his pounding headache as a result of last night’s mistakes. His mouth was incredibly dry and the room was still spinning, but he needed to make it to the kitchen before the green-haired bastard burned it down. 

“Calm down, cook. I just burnt some toast.” Zoro groaned, waving the smoke away. 

“You can’t even make toast?! How have you survived up until now?” Sanji stood next to him looking down at the black pieces of bread and a pile of yellow goo – were they supposed to be eggs? He sighed, feeling bad about yelling at Zoro for trying to make him breakfast after the emotional wreck he was last night. After leaving the bar, the only thing he recalled was crying into his chest until he fell asleep. It only just dawned on him that the man stayed by his side all night. 

“I’m sorry, Zoro. Thank you. I’ll eat it.” Sanji said softly. 

“You – uh, got somethin’ on your face….” Zoro rubbed his thumb underneath Sanji’s eye and he quickly turned around to check out his reflection in the microwave. The mascara left dark smudges underneath his eyes and the red lipstick was now in his goatee. His hair was also sticking up in all sorts of directions. Shit, he looked like a hot mess and Zoro was here to witness all of it! 

“I’m taking a shower.” Sanji decided, running off into his bedroom to grab a fresh change of clothes and then into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. 

He emerged ten minutes later in a baggy sweatshirt and his boxer briefs, feeling refreshed after standing under the hot shower. He was still hungover but it was a lot more bearable. Zoro glanced up from the dining table, keeping his gaze fixated on him. 

“Um… thanks. For last night. And for all of this.” Sanji pulled out a chair across from Zoro. He began picking at his eggs, finding it difficult to look him in the eyes. Even though Zoro saw him at his worst last night, it was actually rather cathartic to finally let go of his pent-up feelings. Feelings that would have otherwise stayed suppressed had it not been for the green-haired muscle-head he was completely head over heels for. 

“Don’t mention it. I think your cat’s hungry.” Belle was threading herself through Zoro’s legs underneath the table as she mewed. 

“Shit! I forgot. Um, did you want to take a shower too?” Sanji offered. “Yeah, if you don’t mind. I reek pretty bad.” Zoro got up from his seat and headed into the bathroom while Sanji grabbed some cat food. 

Zoro opened the door, walking out in nothing but a towel around his hips and his hair still damp. Sanji bit down on his bottom lip, feeling the warmth rise to his cheeks at the sight of the nearly-naked man. It was one thing to imagine what he looked like underneath those clothes and another to actually behold the sight in reality. 

Only… there was one thing that caught him by surprise. 

“You… when did you get that scar?” Sanji asked, observing the stitching that ran across his chest to his belly-button. 

“Remember when I told you about that time I went to the hospital? Then.” Zoro returned to his seat across from Sanji. “Don’t really wanna get into the details. You got any clothes I can borrow?” 

“Oh, y-yeah. I’ll be back.” Sanji went back into his bedroom to fish out some clothes for Zoro. He handed him a jumper, underwear, and a pair of sweatpants. “You can keep them and leave your dirty clothes here. I’ll clean them and return them to you when I see you next.” 

“…Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it.” Sanji smiled. It was the least he could do. 

❀

It was the middle of May before Sanji could even process the eventful April that changed his life completely. He spent the last few weeks helping Nami and Vivi move into their new apartment which was only about an hour drive from the city. It was a quaint place that was located in a suburban area, tucked away behind a lot of greenery. At the housewarming party, everyone agreed it was the perfect place for the two of them to start the new chapter of their lives. 

When Sanji returned to his apartment that night, Zoro came with him and they just sat on the couch, drinking and talking while a movie played mindlessly in the background. 

_I needed this, Zoro. I’m glad that you’re here._

Sanji had said, pressing his lips against Zoro’s before they were making out and moving their bodies against each other. 

On May 18th, Nami decided to gather everyone from Delphinium to have a tea party in her backyard as a celebration for reaching their monthly target for April. Sanji made an Ambrosia salad while Perona brought over her homemade cupcakes and Caimie baked a cake. Nami cleared her throat and stood up from her seat, raising her glass of pink champagne to toast. 

“I just want to say thank you to everyone for their efforts this past month. I know we’ve all had to overcome a difficult situation but we’ve all pulled through! For Del!” She cheered and the others followed, clinking their glasses together. 

“I also wanted to say thank you as well. I… still feel a little bit guilty about not being able to provide anyone with any sort of closure and I feel somewhat responsible – “ 

“Sanji. Stop carrying that weight on your own.” Nami sighed. 

“Yeah, Sanji, we’re all here for you. This wasn’t your fault.” Caimie comforted. 

“Besides, I have connections to a Police Captain. I tried to get answers from him but he won’t budge. He said it’s all _confidential_.” Perona huffed. 

“You what?!” They all exclaimed. 

“How do you know a Police Captain?” Caimie queried. 

“He’s my landlord. He looks scary, but he’s actually really soft,” Perona replied. Sanji was hit with a strange sense of Deja vu. 

“Does he look like a vampire from a punk rock band?” Sanji asked. 

“He totally does! How do you know that?” Perona gave Sanji a confused look while Nami burst into laughter. “No way! Perona, do you know who Zoro is?” 

“Zoro? That muscle-gorilla who always ignores my texts? Even though we’ve known each other for years.” She pouted. Sanji was gobsmacked by this new piece of information. Even though Perona was the chattiest out of them all, she never really spoke much about her personal life. It explained why Sanji had never heard her talk about Zoro. However, he did recall her mentioning she had a client that used up all her green-dye but he never connected the dots up until now. 

“Is Zoro the guy you’re seeing, Sanji?” Caimie tried to make sense of the situation. 

“You’re sleeping with Zoro?!” Perona exclaimed, far too loudly and inappropriately for a morning tea party where Nami’s neighbours could have overheard. 

“I’m not sleeping with him! We’re just – well, I don’t know what we are but I guess you could say we’re seeing each other.” Sanji said under his breath. He hadn’t thought about putting a label on it until now. 

“By that he means they text every day, Zoro visits him at least twice a week and they make-out. A lot.” Nami grinned. “Oh, and they’re going out to browse for furniture on the weekend.” 

“You’re moving in together?” Caimie clapped her hands together, “I’m so happy for you, Sanji!” “Furniture for _Del_ ,” Sanji clarified. “I sent him an invite and he accepted. That’s all.” Sanji took a sip from his champagne. Perona used the opportunity to steal his phone so she could unlock it to get into his text messages. “I can’t believe your passcode’s still the same.” She poked her tongue out once Sanji tried to take it back from her. 

“Gross! Are you sexting?” Perona gasped. 

“Perona! Please give me back my phone!” Sanji pleaded. 

“Fine. I didn’t need to see a photo of you in your underwear anyway.” She tossed the phone back and Sanji caught it. 

“You sent him a photo of you in your underwear?” Nami smirked, “You didn’t tell me about that, you cheeky slut.” Sanji turned a bright shade of pink. This was definitely not the classy, elegant sort of tea party and he wasn’t about to be the only one who behaved like it was. 

“So, he left his black shirt behind and I used it to… you know.” Sanji swirled his glass around while the others giggled. “You’re filthy. You both are,” Nami commented. “Does he know you’re still a virgin?” 

“…No. If he asks, I’d tell him. And we haven’t come close to that yet since we’re taking it slow,” Sanji confessed. “There was one time he offered to get me off and I almost told him then but I didn’t want it to insinuate anything.” 

“Urgh. This is so weird hearing about someone who is like a brother to me getting it on with my boss. I can’t believe you stole my client too, but you can keep him.” Perona groaned. 

“I’m sorry, Perona. He’s just… he’s always at mine so I thought it was convenient,” Sanji justified. 

“Let me guess, he pays you in other ways?” Nami added. 

“He doesn’t have to. I don’t mind colouring his hair,” He admitted. Although, they had made-out a few times while waiting for the bleach. 

“Do you love him?” Caimie’s question got him all flustered. He told Nami he thought he was falling in love with him but _being_ in love with him? That was something else. 

“I don’t know… I think there’s still a lot I don’t know about him. I’ve never been to his apartment for once and he doesn’t like to talk about his feelings. He could just be… “ 

_Playing around._

Sanji’s chest tightened. He hadn’t stopped to consider that possibility. After all, Zoro didn’t seem to show any interest in dating. What if his feelings were unrequited? What if Zoro only saw him as a potential conquest that he just wanted to bed before moving on to the next? How did Zoro really feel about him? 

“I think you need to ask him yourself, Sanji.” Nami said as if reading his mind. 

He finished off the rest of his drink, unsure if he was prepared to hear the answer. 

❀

Zoro lifted the box into Sanji’s apartment and placed it down on the ground. He rolled back his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead as Sanji handed him a glass of water before guzzling his own. Sanji was exhausted after helping Zoro carry the damn piece of furniture up eleven flights of stairs after both elevators decided to break down at the same time. 

“Fuckin’ lifts. It wasn’t a bad work-out though,” Zoro commented. Sanji watched his Adam’s apple bob with each gulp. He was entranced by the way the beads of sweat collected at his collarbone and the rising motion of his muscular chest with every breath he took. He looked damn good in a singlet. Maybe the lift needed to break more often. 

“Yeah,” Was all Sanji said. 

“Anyway, text if you need help with assembling it later. I got to get going.” Zoro placed the glass down on the nearest table. 

“Did you have to leave so soon? I can make us dinner.” Sanji tucked his hair behind his ear. It would have been rude of him to let the man go without at least offering to cook for him after he accompanied Sanji for the whole day, and even helped with moving the furniture up the stairs. There was also that thing he had to ask him that had been festering away at the back of his mind. 

“I’d like to stay, cook. But I can’t. Gotta work.” The last time they had dinner together was on their first date a month ago until Zoro suddenly started taking on a lot of night shifts. Sanij wished he could have persuaded him to stay, but Zoro was already opening the door to leave. 

“Zoro, wait. Is this about the robbery that you’ve been investigating?” 

“Could be,” Zoro replied. 

“I’ve just noticed that you’ve been working late a lot and I don’t want to be that person that tells you how to do your job… I’m just – I don’t want you to end up doing something stupid and dangerous.” Sanji moved over to stand by him at the entryway. “Promise me you won’t be reckless?” 

“I can try.” Zoro pressed a kiss on his forehead. Sanji watched his back as he headed down the hallway and the words that he had been dying to tell him for ages chose to fall out of his mouth at that moment. 

“I like you, Zoro!” 

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and his stomach started to flip when Zoro didn’t say anything. He shouldn’t have vomited out his feelings like that without knowing how Zoro felt about him first! Sanji wouldn’t even be mad at him if he just darted down the stairs because the whole situation was incredibly awkward and did he have to put him on the spot like that when he was already half-way down the hallway? 

Zoro responded by turning around and running back towards him, crushing their mouths together as he lifted his legs up around his hips and pressed him against the wall. Sanji let out a soft noise, gripping onto Zoro’s back while they kissed in the hallway. A cough was heard a moment later once the tenant who lived next door tried to squeeze past them. 

“S-sorry.” Sanji apologised, fixing his shirt that had bunched up during their exchange after Zoro placed him back down onto the ground. 

“Apologise too, you bastard.” Sanji jabbed his side with his elbow. 

“Why do I have to?” Zoro scoffed. 

“Just do it!” Sanji barked. 

“Don’t worry about it. Just remember when you take this inside, the walls are really thin.” His neighbour reminded, walking past them and opening the door to their apartment. Sanji really needed to remember that the next time he was moaning obscene things at an inappropriate volume. 

“I should go.” Zoro scratched the back of his head and Sanji caressed his cheek. 

“Just be careful.” 

❀

Zoro arrived at the usual pub around 6:30 pm, sitting on one of the stools at the bar as he waited for his old friend to arrive. He ordered a pint of beer in the meantime, using alcohol to drown out the sense of guilt that had arisen in his gut as he recalled his conversation with Sanji. 

The truth was, he had disobeyed Mihawk’s order and was secretly investigating the robbery for the past few weeks. He lucked out when he was told Detective Brook was the primary on the case, as he happened to be an old friend from when he worked over at the Major Crimes division. Brook still refused to let Zoro work the case with him, opting to be his personal information broker instead - which he still defined as ‘risky enough to get them both suspended.’ It was better than nothing so Zoro agreed to his terms. 

"Evening, sir.” Brook took the seat next to him, concealing his face with a pair of sunglasses and the shade of his cap. He had to stop coming in dressed like he was about to sell him some drugs. 

“PB,” Zoro greeted, using the nickname he gave him. 

Brook ordered a glass of Merlot. 

“I got something big for you tonight,” He said under his breath. 

“And that’s why the P stands for Pervert.” Zoro grinned. “Lay it on me.” 

“We’ve linked the symbol to a criminal organisation led by B-I-G-M-O-M. You know that tip you gave us about the symbol being spotted years ago at an orphanage up in North Grand Line? We looked into it and it’s a closed case from twenty years ago. She owned that orphanage so she could raise the kids and turn them into her own henchmen.” 

Zoro gripped onto his glass. It was heinous to even think someone would take advantage of innocent children in that way. He hated to imagine how Sanji could have ended up working for a criminal organisation if he had not been adopted. 

“But wouldn’t people just adopt them?” Zoro questioned. 

“That’s the thing. It was never an orphanage to the public. Only the kids believed it was. Some of them were even used as test subjects for drug experiments.” 

That was strange. If what Brook told him was true, then how had Sanji managed to get adopted? 

“There was one child who was saved by a man named Zeff over twenty years ago. The orphanage was actually raided a while back when Zeff, who was the previous chef to B-I-G-M-O-M, betrayed them and tipped off the police.” 

Zoro took another swig of his beer. Sanji was a lot closer to the case than he had hoped. There was that bad feeling in his gut again that wouldn’t go away no matter how much alcohol he consumed. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Sanji when he could have done something about it. 

“And where are they now?” 

“Most of them are in jail, including B-I-G-M-O-M herself. However, a few of them were released recently and remain loyal to her. That’s why it was surprising to see that symbol pop up again outside of the North after twenty years. The suspect we’ve been interrogating confessed to working under them for a few months and they’re after the child who escaped.” 

That must have been Alvida. The damn witch was an accomplice all along. Sanji had trusted her and even shed tears over their friendship. It made him seethe with rage. 

“There’s been a tip-off that tomorrow night they’re going after Zeff. We don’t know what they plan to do, but it isn’t going to be pretty. We’re getting a few detectives to stake out the Baratie since we believe that’s where it’ll go down.” 

Zoro gritted his teeth. Those bastards were going to go after Sanji’s old man. 

“I know that look. Don’t you dare think about showing up with that hot head of yours. We can take care of it.” Brook warned before sighing. “He’s very important to you, isn’t he, Zoro?” 

“…Yeah. I’d do anything to make sure he’s safe,” Zoro responded. 

“He must be a real beauty to make someone like you settle down.” Brook chuckled, sipping his wine. 

“He’s damn beautiful. Blonde hair, nice legs, pretty blue eyes, and a dirty mouth. He’s also a good cook and skilled with hair. He’s sensitive but he ain’t delicate, I know he could kick my ass if he tried.” Zoro grinned. 

“And his ass?” A rosy tint was now spread across Brook’s face. 

“Fuckin’ gorgeous. Got a photo of him in his underwear.” 

“Don’t just keep that to yourself! Show me.” 

“Sorry, PB. No can do.” Zoro refused. 

“You’re horrible! After I’m putting my job on the line for you.” Brook sniffled. “At least tell me what kind of underwear he was wearing. Was it a jock-strap? Boxer-briefs? A thong?” 

“The third one, and it was lacey.” Zoro figured he may as well return the favour in some way. “You pervert,” He added. 

❀

Zoro hid behind one of the many yachts that were docked a few feet away from the Baratie. The moon was high in the night sky and it was eerily quiet aside from the occasional call of a seagull and the tranquil sounds of the water. Zoro had arrived a couple of hours earlier as Brook hadn’t specified a time, though, he assumed it was going to happen when the restaurant was closed to avoid too many witnesses. 

11:03 pm. 

He was growing impatient as the time ticked on, waiting with bated breath as the adrenaline rushed through his veins. He heard the distant sound of footsteps approaching and he guessed there were at least eight of them. He cocked his gun, peering out to observe the criminals sneak around the floating restaurant. Where the hell was Brook and the other detectives? He couldn’t afford to wait any longer for them. He had to make a move or else Zeff’s life would be in danger. 

_Zoro, don’t do this again._

As he moved from his position, he thought he felt someone pull against the back of his t-shirt so he spun around and pointed his weapon at the air. He must have been feeling delirious from his lack of sleep since he could have sworn he also heard Kuina’s voice. 

Once he stealthily managed to get close enough to one of the thugs, he knocked him out by hitting the back of his head with the bottom of his gun before swinging his leg around to kick the other one that started running towards him in the stomach. Gunshots started firing soon after that. A bullet grazed his leg as he tried to aim at the thugs who were spread across the dock. He managed to get most of them but he was still vastly outnumbered. 

It was just like it was back then. 

His intuition was telling him there was another one behind him, but by the time he turned around, they had already jabbed a needle into his arm and his vision became blurry as he fell to his knees. The last thing he remembered seeing was a knife before he was overwhelmed with a strong sense of pain coming from his left eye. His vision turned to black and his body became limp. 

_I’m sorry… Sanji._

“Sanji? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Nami answered the phone after Sanji rang her a little after midnight. He was on his third consecutive cigarette, which was unusual for him unless he was feeling particularly stressed. 

“Nami… I’m sorry to have woken you up. I just couldn’t sleep.” Sanji paced back and forth on his balcony. 

“Don’t apologise. Just tell me if something’s happened and if I need to go over there,” Nami responded. 

“You’re going to think it’s stupid but you know how Zoro and I have been texting each other every day? Well, he hasn’t messaged me after… after I told him that I liked him.” Sanji couldn’t help his voice from breaking. He could have just been jumping to conclusions but Zoro had never gone over twenty-four hours without sending him a reply. 

“Oh no, Sanji. Don’t think the worst of it. Maybe he’s just been really busy with work?” 

“I thought he might’ve been but… there’s this bad feeling I can’t shake. I mean, he didn’t tell me he liked me back. What if I scared him off?” 

“Sanji, I think running back towards you, pressing you against a wall and kissing you was his way of telling you that. Maybe just give it another day or so? He could just be processing it all,” Nami reassured. 

“You’re right. I’m just overthinking this.” Sanji leaned against the railing, looked down at the city. 

“Did you want me to come over?” She asked. 

“Thank you for offering but I’ll be okay. You should get some rest. Goodnight, Nami.” Sanji said before putting out his cigarette and heading back into his bedroom. If only the pit in his stomach would go away so he could get some sleep. 

Sanji waited behind the front desk of the precinct with a basket filled with food. After Zoro had failed to answer any of his calls or message him back for an entire week, he decided to ask Perona whereabouts he worked so that he could drop in on him unannounced and ask him where the hell he had been. He had spent the entire week coming up with scenarios ranging from he had moved on to the worst possibility, which was that he somehow ended up in some kind of dangerous situation even after he promised he would try not to. 

“Oh, hey. Are you here to make a witness statement?” A man in sunglasses greeted him. 

“No, I - I was wondering if you know an officer named Zoro?” Sanji felt a little uncomfortable as the cop lowered his sunglasses to get a better look at him. 

“Damn. You’ve got to be the lemon slice that Zoro’s been texting. Hey, I’m Johnny. I’m his friend.” He stuck out his hand and Sanji reluctantly shook it. 

“Johnny, is Zoro here or not?” Sanji chose to ignore the fact that he just referred to him as Zoro’s lemon slice. Was that how Zoro spoke about him to his friends? It infuriated him to no end. He also didn’t know Zoro had any other friends aside from the mutual ones they shared. 

“Oh… he didn’t tell you? He’s been suspended UFN after he tried to take down a gang of criminals by himself against Captain’s orders.” 

Sanji gripped onto the handle of his basket, trying his best to stay calm. He wanted to kick the man’s ass for doing the exact thing he told him not to do and for keeping him in the damn dark about it for an entire fucking week. 

“Where is he now? Is he at his apartment?” 

“Yeah. He got discharged from the hospital a few nights ago, I think?” 

“He went to the hospital?!” Sanji raised his voice, alerting the other surrounding officers. Johnny just gestured them away. 

“Not sure what happened to him but I – “ 

Sanji gripped onto Johnny’s shirtfront before he demanded, “Tell me where he lives.” 

Sanji was standing out the front of Zoro’s apartment feeling his emotions go absolutely haywire. He was angry, upset, concerned, frightened, and annoyed all at once that he seriously thought he was going to break down in front of the man once he saw him again. 

He knocked on his door, taking a breath in – and out. 

Zoro opened the door a minute later and Sanji was taken aback by his rugged appearance that suggested a lack of sleep and a poor sense of hygiene. He looked like he hadn’t changed out of his clothes in ages and he was surrounded by the strong stench of alcohol. There was also a bandage that covered his left eye and one around his arm that he could see. 

“You – You, idiot!” Sanji yelled at him. “I’ve been trying to contact you for a whole week and you’ve just ignored me! Did you know how fucking worried I was? I had to find out what happened to you from a guy named Johnny for god’s sake!” 

“How’d you find out where I work?” Zoro couldn’t even look Sanji in the eyes. 

“That’s the first thing you’re going to ask after seeing me again? I’m not even going to answer that question until you tell me why you didn’t bother to tell me anything.” Zoro didn’t respond and the dumb look on his face was making him impatient. 

“Say something, Zoro!” Sanji pleaded. 

“Because I knew you’d do this! You’d freak out over it when I don’t regret a single fuckin’ thing. I don’t need you to protect me, I don’t need anyone to look after me!” 

Sanji slapped him across the face, unable to hold back the sting of tears that welled up in his eyes. 

“You’re an asshole, you know that, Zoro? You’re incapable of thinking about other people’s feelings and you’ve got a stupid hero complex and a big fucking ego that will kill you one day. Here, I made these for you.” Sanji shoved the basket into Zoro’s hands. “I don’t want to see you anymore.” 

Sanji turned around to leave only to be stopped by a firm grip around his wrist. 

“Sanji -” 

“Don’t! Don’t call me Sanji!” Sanji painfully cried, pulling his arm back and walking away from him as all of the emotions he felt from earlier were just replaced with an agonizing heartache. His chest hurt so much that he found it hard to breathe. 

He was a fool for coming by in the first place. 

A fool that was still hopelessly in love with another damn fool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...oops sorry for another emotional chapter. Don’t worry though! I promise there won’t be _as much_ angst in the next one. I’m taking a small break before the next chapter ‘Marigold’. We’re at the home stretch now…


	11. Marigold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji tries to get over his heartache and Nami tries to help by taking him to a strip club where he runs into a familiar acquaintance. Robin drops by for a visit when all else fails.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sry this took so long! I’ve gotten busy again and haven’t been in a writing mood. Thanks to everyone for their patience ♥

###  Chapter 11: Marigold 

> #####  **Marigold:** _pain and grief._

Zoro sat down on the ground with his back against the door, trying to forget about the pain in Sanji’s voice when he told him he never wanted to see him again. He should’ve held him, kissed him, told him how sorry he was and how much he missed him. 

He might have pretended he was some sort of hero for taking down a group of crooks from a notorious criminal organisation, when in reality, he was an idiot who was lucky to be alive. Thanks to his fucking pride, he lost the relationship he built with one of the most important people in his life. 

He hadn’t changed one bit in three damn years. 

When his consciousness returned, he found himself in a bed at Grand Line City Hospital. Mihawk was leaning against the wall wearing an expression Zoro was quite familiar with. To the untrained eye, it would seem identical to his usual look, however, Zoro could discern the slightly downward curve of his lips and the furrowed brows that indicated otherwise. 

_“You’re a fool, Zoro. Return your gun and badge tomorrow morning. I am suspending you until further notice.”_

Zoro gritted his teeth, biting back a curse. The rumbling in his stomach forced him to get up and open the fridge – as if there’d be anything remotely satiating inside. There was nothing other than a couple more bottles of beer, leftover Chinese food from two nights ago, and a single lemon. He glanced over at the basket he discarded on the floor and picked it up. The scent from within caused his stomach to grumble aggressively until he swallowed his guilt and unwillingly opened it up to find several pieces of onigiri. 

❀

“Thank you, Seira. We will be in touch once we’ve finished interviewing all the applicants.” Nami closed the door behind her and sighed. “I just don’t think anyone we’ve interviewed so far will be suitable. I mean, they’re all great beauticians with different experiences but they just don’t fit what we have in mind.” Nami plopped herself back down on the seat across from Sanji at the table in his living space. 

“Maybe we just have to lower our expectations because it’ll only hurt us in the end if we expect too much out of somebody,” Sanji responded, chewing on the pencil that was previously resting on his ear. 

“Sanji… I know you aren’t talking about the applicants anymore. Are you sure you’re okay to be doing this? I can handle it on my own.” 

“Sorry, I’m…” 

Upset? Disappointed? Lonely? He refused to let last week’s events distract him from work, but it was easier said than done. 

“I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me.” 

“Says the man who is about to beaver his way through a pencil.” 

Sanji quickly took the pencil out of his mouth. 

“Mm…Let’s go out tonight. It’s been a while since we’ve gone out just the two of us. We can hit a few bars, maybe go to that gay strip club we never got to check out?” Nami proposed. The idea didn’t sound half-bad considering Sanji had spent far too long inside his apartment. 

When he wasn’t working, then he was doing yoga or going through a cigarette or two on the balcony to avoid unconsciously checking his phone for a text message he knew wouldn’t come. It would be a refreshing change to see other men who weren’t Zoro for once. 

“Let’s do it.” 

❀

“I’ve never seen a gay man look so upset to have dicks in his face. Are you sure you’re okay?” Nami asked, swirling the straw around in her cocktail. Sanji snapped out of his thoughts and tried to give her the most convincing smile he could muster. 

“I’m fine.” 

He was usually pretty good at concealing his emotions, but this was Nami. He may as well have had ‘I’m not okay’ written across his forehead. 

“No, you’re not. I’m starting to think you don’t understand what it means to be fine. You want to know who’s fine? That guy up on the stage with the six-pack, tanned skin and a nice back who is literally the walking definition of your type and you haven’t even looked at him.” Nami tilted his chin up, “Sanji, is this somewhere you really want to be right now?” 

“Y-yeah. I’ve been meaning to come here for ages. The men are all really attractive.” 

Nami gave him a look that suggested she wasn’t buying it. 

“You sound like me and I’m a lesbian. What’s really going on? Are you anxious about Del reopening next month?” 

“No, I’m mostly looking forward to that.” Sanji sighed, staring down at his beverage which was mostly just ice at this point. 

“Then it’s about Zoro isn’t it? You still have feelings for him,” Nami said. 

_Yes._

“No. Unless kicking his ass counts as a feeling,” Sanji responded. 

“When it comes to the two of you, yeah it does. Sanji, you can be honest with me. What Zoro did to you was awful. Yeah, he’s a self-destructive idiot, but is it a bad thing to be a so-called hero?” 

“I know… I appreciate that he was willing to do so much for Del, and his job is always going to be dangerous. It’s just how incredibly selfish his actions were. That whole week I barely slept because I was so fucking worried about him - about us - and he couldn’t even spare a minute out of his ass-kicking to just send me a text? It makes me feel like he doesn’t give a shit about me.” 

Sanji wasn’t expecting all of that to come out at once. He chose to bottle up his feelings for a reason. They always were a jumbled mess. 

“I totally agree with you, Sanji. It was a really awful thing for him to do, but I can’t say that I agree he doesn’t give a shit about you. I actually think he cares about you a lot, only he sucks at communicating it in normal human ways. Instead, he goes and - ” 

“Ends up in hospital and ghosts me for a week?” 

“Yeah!” Nami confirmed. “Men do stupid stuff like that all the time. It’s not your fault you fell in love with - what did Perona say? A Muscle-Gorilla?” 

Sanji let out a soft chuckle, “Yeah.” 

“I think you need to speak to him. Don’t feel obligated to continue your relationship with him afterward. If anything, it can provide some closure for you so you can move on with someone else.” 

“...You’re right. I’ll speak to him. What’s the worst that could happen?” 

“Blowjobs?” 

Sanji and Nami looked up at the waiter clad in a provocative outfit and holding a tray with two shot glasses. 

“Oh, thanks.” Nami took the glasses and placed one down in front of Sanji. 

“Nami... thanks, but I don’t want to get drunk tonight.” Sanji tried to slide the drink back to her, failing in his attempt to do so once she held onto his wrist. 

“If any situation calls for a drink, it’s this one. Promise I won’t order anymore after this.” Nami pushed it back and Sanji chose to give in. He finished the liquid in one gulp before wiping the cream off his lips. Their conversation took a load off his chest and the buzz from the alcohol was therapeutic enough for him to forget about everything. 

But that moment of temporary peace didn’t last long. 

It was thrown into chaos once he made eye contact with a set of piercing blue eyes that he had all but forgotten about. He would not have recognised him underneath his mask if it wasn’t for the familiar red hair and the prominent shape of his jaw. 

“Oh god, it’s Drake.” Sanji turned to Nami in an effort to hide his face. It was definitely too late as there was no doubt Drake had already spotted him. 

“Drake? You mean like that cute red-head from Franky’s that you dumped ages ago?” Nami spun around to check, “Shit, it really is him.” 

“I didn’t dump him and stop looking!” Sanji exclaimed. 

“I thought you said he was a cop?” Nami asked, facing back at Sanji. 

“That’s what he told me!” 

This was the worst time to be running into someone he hooked up with, especially a man whose heart he practically shattered after drunkenly leading him on the whole night. 

“You don’t think… he meant a stripper cop and not a real cop?” 

“I don’t know… I remember him saying he was born up North and moved to the city to become a cop. Why would you say you’re a cop when you’re clearly not a cop?” 

“He might have been embarrassed about it. Although, he could have said dancer or entertainer? Maybe he was a cop and changed career? Oh, now he’s grinding against the floor.” 

“Nami!” 

“Sorry.” Nami giggled. “Why not give him another chance? He wasn’t a bad guy right?” 

“I… well, I feel like I can’t show my face around him anymore. I’m also tired of men lying to me, alright? Come on. Let’s go somewhere else.” 

“Are you sure it’s not just ‘cos you’re in love with somebody else?” 

“Nami, please? This is so fucking awkward.” 

“Okay, okay. But you should seriously think about it. Red’s a good colour on you.” 

❀

The following day, Nami had insisted on taking over the interview process by offering to use her space so Sanji could take the day off to speak with Zoro. Although, it was a lot easier to avoid as he ended up using the free time to catch up on some much-needed online shopping, cleaning, and even managed to do some yoga until Belle decided to disrupt him (he found it difficult to focus anyway). After he spent half the day delaying the inevitable, he finally decided to pull out his phone. 

_Dear Zoro_

When did he ever start his messages with ‘Dear Zoro?’ It wasn’t a stupid letter! He deleted all the text and discarded his phone on the table. 

He needed some other outlet to relieve his pent-up stress. 

When the door to his apartment suddenly opened after – god knows how long – Sanji expected it to be Nami, albeit pleasantly surprised to see another one of his friends. 

“Robin! How did you get in?” 

“Sorry for dropping in unannounced. Nami gave me the key after I informed her via text I was coming to visit. Oh my, it’s very crowded in here.” 

Sanji put down his straightening iron, taking in the sight of all the mannequin heads with varying styled wigs placed around the room. He hadn’t even realised when it got so out-of-hand as he was far too focused on distracting himself with _something_. 

“I’m so sorry! I would have cleaned up if I knew you were coming.” Sanji started haphazardly putting all his tools away. 

“Don’t worry about it, Sanji. It’s actually rather fascinating. It reminds me of this documentary I watched the other night.” 

“Documentary? Ah, was this about the emerging New York Hairstylist who ended up working on celebrities?” 

“Not quite. This was about the serial killer who enjoyed ripping the scalp off his victims and possessed a unique obsession with hair.” 

“...Right. I… don’t think I’ve seen that one.” Sanji admitted. “Um, do you want any tea? Coffee? I still have a Red Velvet cake I baked the other day if you’re feeling peckish.” 

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine. Come sit with me on the couch. There’s something I might be able to help you with.” 

Sanji had no idea what Robin could have been referring to other than his predicament with confronting Zoro after two weeks of zero contact with the man. However, he couldn’t recall telling her about that so it must have been Nami? She did give him the day off so he could speak with him and it was nearing 5 pm and he hadn’t even messaged him yet. 

Sitting down in the spot next to Robin, Sanji took a deep breath before he asked, “What is it?” 

“I had a surprise customer come in today.” 

“Who was it? Was it a celebrity?” 

“No, no. Though, I think you might have heard of him. Tall, very handsome, green-hair.” Robin smiled warmly at him. 

There was only one person it could be. 

“...Zoro?” 

“Yes. He looked a little lost and sombre so I offered to help him. That’s when he asked me if I had any Delphiniums.” 

Sanji felt the familiar pain in his chest return as he tried to fight back tears. The facade he had been cultivating as a means to protect himself from showing his friends how much he was hurting was growing harder to maintain. 

“I responded with, no, not at the moment and offered an alternative option. Do you want to guess what he said?” Robin continued. 

Sanji shook his head, grabbing a nearby pillow to squeeze. 

“I told him I didn't have any in stock and would order them in and notify him when they were ready to be picked up from the store. When I asked him why he was so persistent on Delphiniums, he stubbornly said it was the only flower he wanted.” 

It was damn near impossible for Sanji to hold back his emotions any longer. Robin seemed to notice his wavering expression and offered her lap for his head to rest on. He felt the comfort of long fingers run through his hair while he sobbed. 

❀

Sanji stood outside Zoro’s apartment complex wishing he had at least thrown on something warmer. After Robin left, Sanji took an hour to compose himself before he attempted to message Zoro, only to end up disliking anything he wrote and hailing a taxi so he could meet him face-to-face. 

It only occurred to him that Zoro might not even be home. Frowning, he kept his arms around his body as he walked up the stairs to his floor, taking a deep breath before he knocked on his door. 

“Back so – oh, it’s you!” 

“Johnny?” Sanji groaned. “Where’s Zoro?” 

Sanji couldn’t believe he was doing this again. 

“He’s out back in the parking lot. Hey, since you’re here, I wanted to apologise. I feel like my first impression wasn’t the best. I didn’t mean to creep you out or anything. When Zoro found out about it, he got super fucking pissed.” 

“It’s okay, Johnny. It wasn’t… really a good time. I’ll head out to the parking lot.” 

“Wait! Zoro… he hasn’t been… himself lately. Or he’s been too much of himself. I don’t know which one it is but I think you’re the only one who can help him.” 

Sanji didn’t know what else to say other than “thanks.” 

What did he mean by he was the only one who could help him? 

Zoro was sitting on the hood of his car, leaning his back against the window while he stared up at the night sky. Once Johnny showed up unannounced at his apartment with a box of DVDs, he knew he had to get some air. He liked the guy, but he really just wanted to be left alone. Also, there was only so much he could take of buddy-cop shows he’s seen a hundred times. 

The sound of footsteps on the gravel caused him to glance over in the direction they were coming from. It was too dark to make out the features of the silhouette, though he guessed it was just one of the tenants and ignored them. 

“It’s just like you to be out here alone, brooding in the dark in the middle of a parking lot.” 

Zoro shot upright once he realised who the voice belonged to. 

“Sanji?” 

“I’m still getting used to you calling me that, Mosshead.” 

As Sanji moved closer, he started to make out the details of his face which were previously obscured by shadows. He looked so damn beautiful illuminated by the moonlight that Zoro wished he hadn’t fucked up one of his eyes. 

“I thought… you didn’t want to see me again.” 

“I didn’t. But I want to change my mind.” Sanji joined Zoro on the hood of the car, sitting closer than Zoro thought he would be comfortable with. 

“I still want you to know that I still meant everything that I said even though I responded irrationally. You really hurt me, Zoro. You’re already aware of how I feel – how I felt – about you. I thought I could move on from all of this, but the past few weeks have proven that it’s not that simple.” 

Zoro felt a twinge of pain in his chest at Sanji’s use of past tense. He couldn’t deny the small hope that Sanji’s feelings towards him hadn’t changed when he approached him. It was a naïve thought considering how he treated him. 

“Why did you come here?” Zoro asked. 

“I want to know if you meant the things you said.” 

Zoro fell silent for a moment. There was a lot he wanted, even needed, to tell Sanji. If only he knew where to start. 

“…I did. But there was more I wanted to say. I don’t regret what I did because if I hadn’t done it then… people’s lives could’ve been lost. It was a mistake not to call for backup and I will never live that part of it down. I do regret not contacting you. I should’ve told you what happened, but I didn’t want to burden you with something I decided to do on my own. When I left the hospital, the first thing I wanted to do was call you. I didn’t because I couldn’t think of anything I could say. I only wanted to do it so I could hear your voice.” 

Zoro tried to gather his thoughts before he continued. 

“And then you showed up and all I could think about how much easier it would be to push you away than keep you close. When I said I didn’t want anyone to protect me, that came from another place. I’ve always had people tell me not to do things for my sake and it used to piss me off. I’ve come to see that it’s my problem accepting other people’s kindness over my own ego. So, I’m sorry for that.” 

“Zoro…” 

“I do think about you, Sanji. Fuck, all I do is think about you.” 

A weight landed on his shoulder and Zoro looked over to notice Sanji had rested his head there. 

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you too.” 

“You don’t have to forgive me. You were always too good for me.” 

“If you say that again, I’ll shove my foot down your throat,” Sanji warned. “And about what I said before… I didn’t mean it when I said my feelings changed. It’s been difficult without you. Even though you might have a big ego, you’re unwavering loyalty and need to protect those close to you are things that I really love about you.” 

Unsure of how to respond to Sanji’s earnest statement, Zoro simply took in the words that he couldn’t believe were meant for him. 

“That person I told you about… Her name was Kuina. I met her when we were both training at the academy years ago. She was always someone who was faster than me, a better shot, and always aced the tests that I would’ve flunked if she never helped me study. We ended up working at the same precinct as partners and she still managed to beat me at everything.” 

Zoro smiled softly to himself while he remembered their short time together. 

“One day, we were going after a couple of crooks on the drug case we were working for months. She wanted to wait for backup, but I insisted it’d be fine without them. The whole thing ended up going south as soon as we were outnumbered. I tried to protect her but – “ 

He felt Sanji squeeze his arm. 

“I failed. Blamed myself for fucking ages. I still do. I only saw it as weakness and not something that happened because of my own negligence.” 

“She meant a lot to you, didn’t she?” Sanji asked. 

“…Yeah. I never got to tell her just how much.” 

Zoro tried incredibly hard to fight back his tears. He couldn’t even bring himself to cry when Kuina passed away. 

Sanji’s arms wrapped around his waist. “I think she knew, Zoro.” 

Zoro looked down at Sanji, meeting his gaze before he leaned down and kissed him. Sanji accepted it, opening his mouth to let Zoro in. 

“More.” Sanji breathed, pulling onto Zoro’s shirt and crushing their mouths together again. Zoro gripped onto Sanji’s hips and pressed him against the window of the car while they continued their heated exchange. 

“Fuck, I can’t hold back anymore.” Zoro grunted. He never thought he would ever get to see Sanji again, let alone touch him and kiss him. 

“Me too. But we shouldn’t do this here. People can see us.” 

“Who cares? It’s dark.” Zoro dismissed, trailing kisses down Sanji’s neck towards his collarbone. 

“Zoro! Cut that out!” 

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his crotch as Sanji struck him with a raised knee. Zoro pulled back with a groan. Shit, the blonde really knew how to use his legs. He had to admit it was turning him on. 

“Johnny’s still in my apartment.” 

“Then we’ll go back to mine.” 

The two of them didn’t waste any time getting through the front door, removing their shoes while they made their way towards Sanji’s bedroom. Sanji tried his best not to trip over anything as he attacked Zoro with his mouth every few steps. 

Sanji craved Zoro’s touch so much that he couldn’t think about anything other than having his strong arms envelop him while he made love to him slowly. The growing heat in his pants was just aching to be relieved and he was becoming impatient. 

Once they made it to the bed, Sanji dragged Zoro down with him until their bodies were pressed against each other. 

“Zoro… there’s something I have to tell you.” 

Zoro moved back. “What is it?” 

“I’m still a virgin,” Sanji confessed. The warmth rose to his cheeks as soon as he stared at Zoro’s blank expression. 

“Don’t act like I just told you I was pregnant!” 

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t – with all the exes. I kind of assumed…” 

Sanji sighed. “We never went that far. I always… backed out of it because I didn’t think I was ready, no matter how much my body wanted it.” 

“We don’t have to do it today. Or ever. If you don’t want to. Dunno if I could handle that second option but -” 

“Idiot. Did I say I didn’t want to do it?” Sanji smiled, wrapping his arms around Zoro’s neck. “I’m done with waiting. I want you Zoro. I want you so fucking badly.” 

“Fuck, Sanji. Where’s your lube?” 

“First drawer on your left. There’s condoms in there too.” 

“This one?” 

“No, my left. Sorry.” 

Sanji eagerly groped the tent in Zoro’s jeans. He was growing more aroused with each passing second. It didn’t take much longer for Zoro to return his attention to him, tugging at his pants so he could remove them in one swift motion. 

“This is cute,” Zoro commented, hooking a finger in the waistband of his underwear. 

“Just hurry up.” Sanji demanded, flusteredly. 

“It’ll hurt if you’re impatient.” Zoro removed his shirt and unzipped his jeans, remaining positioned between Sanji’s legs while he worked him. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stifle his voice with each stroke. Zoro was patient with him as he savoured him gradually and gently, trailing his tongue across his chest and up his legs. There were times when he even stopped to ask for Sanji’s permission to continue which he permitted with ease. 

Once they developed a rhythm, Sanji couldn’t contain his cries anymore as his senses were completely overtaken by pleasure. It was like Zoro understood what he wanted without him asking for it. He kissed him in all the places that made his breath hitch and touched him wherever he was itching to be touched. 

“Zoro…” Sanji reached up to caress his face, stroking a thumb tenderly over the stitching on his left eye. It pained him to see the scar up-close without the bandage covering the wound. 

“Does it hurt?” He choked. 

“Not anymore,” Zoro responded, clasping Sanji’s hand and pressing a kiss on his forehead. 

❀

“Did something amazing happen last night, Sanji?” Boa asked. Sanji nearly burned himself on the curling iron at the sudden question. 

“Last night? Um, well, nothing… particularly. Why do you ask, Ms. Hancock?” It was definitely not the time to have lewd memories resurfacing. He made a special effort that morning to ensure all of the markings Zoro left on him couldn’t be seen. 

“Your skin is positively glowing and you’ve been smiling a lot more than you used to. Could it be that you’ve found a lover?” Boa Hancock looked a little too delighted as she entertained the thought, resting her chin in her hands with a pink tint spread across her cheeks. 

Damn, she was good. 

“I might have,” Sanji replied as nonchalantly as he could. 

“Oh, how wonderful! Only love could make someone smile that brightly and clear the skin of any imperfections. Ah, that reminds me! Are you still looking for a beautician?” 

“Yes, we are. Unfortunately, we haven’t found the right person yet.” 

“My sister, Marigold, is actually looking for a job at the moment. She’s a beautician who specialises in body waxing and I’ve told her to apply. I think she’d be perfect.” 

“Ms. Hancock, that sounds amazing! I’ll let Nami know as soon as I can.” 

Their conversation was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone and the caller I.D that was displayed on the screen made him feel a little uneasy. 

“I’m sorry, Ms. Hancock. I just have to make a very quick phone call. Is that alright?” 

“Of course, Sanji.” 

Sanji thanked her before stepping out onto his balcony and returning the call. He became nervous when nobody picked up after the first two rings. That was until the gruntled voice on the other end provided him with the reassurance he needed. 

“About damn time you gave me a call, Squirt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter will likely come out in March this year, so thanks again for bearing with me. There will be two surprises to announce so stay tuned!


End file.
